


Obelisk: Kingdom of Man

by Vesperchan



Series: Obelisk [1]
Category: Naruto
Genre: 1950's aesthetics, 1950s Slang, AU, Angst with a Happy Ending, BAMF Sakura, Curses, F/M, Fantasy, Gangs, Greasers, Knife fights, Monster fic, Multi, Obelisk, Retro Diners, Rockabilly, Sakura Centric, Sock Hops, just not in this first part, you will likely cry
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-23
Updated: 2020-06-26
Packaged: 2021-03-03 23:15:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 4
Words: 63,646
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24883678
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Vesperchan/pseuds/Vesperchan
Summary: 'She could swear she smelt sulfur when she exhaled. Nothing good ever came from boys who smelled like sulfur.'An ancient Egyptian curse and a world of dreams opens Sakura up to a life devoid of safety. In the darkness her nightmares bow themselves to her. In the morning they feast on her heart.-Reposted from FF.net by the original author.Beta edited by Nightmarenip
Relationships: Akatsuki/Haruno Sakura, Haruno Sakura & Sai, Haruno Sakura/Pein, Haruno Sakura/Sasori
Series: Obelisk [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1800589
Comments: 32
Kudos: 53





	1. Marble Gardens

**Author's Note:**

> In thanks to Nightmarenip who worked tirelessly to beta read this beast so AO3 could have it. Pls pass on the thanks and love. I would have never endeavored to post this on my own.

_Now we are about to begin and you must attend!_

_And when we get to the end of the story, you will know more than you do now._

_Once there was, and twice there wasn't..._

* * *

**Obelisk**

* * *

_"I sleep so you will be alive, it is that simple. The dreams themselves are nothing. They are the sickness you control, nothing more."  
_ _— Louise Glück, from The Dream Of Mourning_

* * *

Karin didn't wait for Sakura, but marched into the American Foursquare style house with worn hip roofs and a weathered brick exterior as if she owned the place. The front door had been left unlocked, but Karin was purposefully rough with the door once it showed signs of resistance.

"You have to pick it up," Sakura called out, remembering her parents having the same problem.

Her friend grunted, picking the door up as instructed. Both girls winced when it gave a screeching wail in protest, even though it swung easily enough. Karin made a face, scrunching up her nose and wrinkling the skin between her eyebrows.

"This place is haunted; you'll be dead within a week.” She turned to Sakura, “Leave your DVD collection to me."

Sakura rolled her eyes and heaved a box out of the back of her station wagon before following her friend into the boxy two and a half story home. Carrying the box inside, she deposited it next to the stairs, having not decided where exactly she would be sleeping once inside the house.

Karin was in the living room, tugging on the white sheets that lay draped over the abandoned furniture. With a dramatic flourish, the red head pulled one of the white sheets back and around her head, dust flying wild, exposing the leather chesterfield sofa hidden underneath.

Karin raised a single brow, "Swanky. Was she a fancy lady, this grandmother of yours?"

Sakura crossed into the room and tugged on the white sheet across from the sofa. A pair of matching chesterfield chairs lay underneath, separated by a low oak table with lion legs. A silver cigarette dish sat filled with mints. "She was a relic. She went everywhere and seemed to have done everything. Her house is more museum than home."

"Oh, anything worth pawning?"

Sakura shrugged, "The couch? I don't know. But don't go getting ideas, I'll crush your windpipe before you try stuffing your pockets."

The redhead laughed, but it sounded more like a cackle, reminding Sakura of the nickname that had followed Karin through high school. Although being dubbed the Wicked Witch had more to do with her attitude, than her cackling laugh. With unreal Ariel red hair pulled back into victory curls and tattoos colored like murals, she had a certain air and presence that preceded her. She was the type of girl who wore her heart on her sleeve and made sure you knew it too.

"I would have to really hate you a lot to pick from the dead."

"Don't you?"

Karin mocked blowing a kiss, ending the gesture with flipping Sakura the bird, "Love you too, babe. I'm getting the bags."

Sakura followed the redhead as far as the hallway before stopping to pull down the sheet draped over the entryway mirror. The girl staring back at her had fierce eyes and fiercer hair. Dyed shocking pink and pulled back into a brass clip, it fell over her shoulders and tangled with the pins speared through her denim vest.

Karin might have been the kind of girl that sported morals that wouldn't prevent her from pinching something whenever she could, but she wouldn't do anything to Sakura. Never Sakura. Karin might have been willing to torch the whole world down once upon a time, but she would never burn Sakura.

The two were outcasts together.

Sakura joined her friend out by the station wagon and pulled two duffels free, emptying what was left of the trunk. Karin had already made quick work of the rest of Sakura's junk. Pulling out their waters, the pair of girls left the luggage in the front hall and set off on a tour of the interior, looking for a place Sakura could renovate without upsetting her mother too much. It was her mother who was most particular about keeping the house as neat and pristine as possible.

One day, when the market was better, they would be able to turn it around and make a dime off the property, but Sakura knew better. The house was two hours away from the university she was attending and a good forty five minute drive from a decent town that didn't look like it had died in the depression and never recovered. The house was old enough that it was a turn off for those in the market to buy.

"What about this one?"

"That's the room she died in."

"Creepy much?" Sakura shrugged.

Karin reached for the door to the second room past the railing and nodded in approval. "This one doesn't look like anyone died in it, and it's so bare. You can easily make it personal."

Sakura peeked her head in and gave the room a quick one over. "The wallpaper isn't horrendous. It's actually decent."

"It will grow on you. The other rooms will be haunted or something, so just settle for this."

Karin pulled back the dusty lace curtains and covered her mouth before sneezing into her hand. When Sakura didn't say anything, Karin glared. Wiping her hands down the sides of her jeans, Karin stalked past Sakura and headed towards the back of the house. Sakura followed, hanging back a pace or two.

"Where are you going?"

"To find the attic. That's where the old people always keep the good stuff." Stopping in the middle of the hallway Karin glanced back over her shoulder, "Where is it?"

Sakura pointed to the opposite end of the hallway before walking over there to tug on a cord that pulled down a foldable set of stairs. She hesitated before unfolding the stairs and Karin noticed.

"Grandma told me I wasn't allowed up in the attic when I was a kid. I've only seen my mom go up with her once. I guess it's not a big deal, but being a kid, I thought…well, things seemed different."

"Everything is different when you're a kid, dummy," Karin huffed before shoving Sakura out of the way and sashaying up the stairs like an alley cat. Sakura followed soon after.

Karin made a strained sound before sneezing loudly. "Really? When was the last time this place got some air? It smells like old lunch boxes."

"What do old lunch boxes smell like?"

"Like your attic, apparently," Karin said.

Sakura pulled the top of her shirt up over her mouth, not having a bandana in her hair to use as a mask like Karin. The redhead found a box with lamps in it and fished out a flashlight that flickered to life, dimly illuminating the darker parts of the attic.

Together, they found a box of creepy porcelain dolls, an American globe from back when the USSR was a thing, a black, Wormwood typewriter, and a box of old AVON perfume bottles that came in cool shapes and designs. Sakura liked a clear one shaped like a mermaid and unscrewed the brass cap that was made to look like her crown. The perfume was gone, but the smell was still there. It smelled like memories.

"Give me this one!" Karin laughed holding up one that was shaped like Elvis Presley. The perfume was still in it, but it smelled more like musk than lady's wear.

"Fine, but don't let my mother know. Mom was particular about everything staying where it was until the house sold," Sakura said.

"Which doesn't make sense. No one ever took anything out of this place. It's like your family wanted to get rid of all of it at once or forget about it. How did your mom dig the old lady before she kicked the bucket?"

"My mom was more…uptight about everything, and so her mother stressed her out. Grandmother was always lost in a memory or a dream, but they loved each other. I don't think the relationship was too bad."

"Does that mean I can have Elvis?"

Sakura held up her hand, palm facing out, "Only if you swear to bring it back if my mother finds out and threatens to kill me over it."

Karin smiled wickedly, "No."

Sakura rolled her eyes, "Fine, I don't care. If she was so worried about this stuff she would have come out to visit it more than once since the funeral. What if it had been robbed? She would have never known."

"You're out pretty far to be a target for that sort of thing."

Sakura made the sign of the cross over her chest, "God willing. That's one of the things I'm freaking out about. I'm going to be alone…like super alone, no neighbor in sight alone. You would think that's a nice idea, but it's freaking me out."

Sakura stiffened when she felt something on her back, but relaxed once she realized it was Karin's head. The redhead's voice came out a little muffled. "You could take in a roommate,” she suggested, “Maybe one that wouldn't mind sleeping in a haunted bedroom that's across the hall."

It was a nice idea. The last three girls Sakura had been renting an apartment with had not been the most fun to live with. They had been nice in their own way; stayed out of her business, and all paid their rent on time, but she had never been comfortable around them, and never got around to feeling like she trusted them. Karin would have been a different story.

Sakura sighed, letting the held air out of her lungs, "That was one of the conditions for living here. My mom didn't want anyone else in the house."

"Your mother is a _bitch_." Karin bit out the words, and Sakura recognized the old bitterness underlying each word. While the two had never met, Karin had let Sakura know how much she disliked the strangely strict mother with psychotic tendencies.

"Please don't," Sakura asked before the redhead could get really worked up. Walking back towards the stairs with the box of AVON bottles, Sakura paused to assess the difficulty of carrying something so large down a skinny ladder that was likely older than herself. "I'm hungry, let's pack up and get something to eat."

"Eat what? Do you not remember the drive? There is no take out anywhere close."

"There's a Chinese place fifteen minutes away that won't give us food poisoning," Sakura looked back and her friend and grinned, "It was a family fav, trust me."

Before Karin could respond, Sakura slipped over the edge of the attic's opening and landed on the rings of the ladder before turning to carry the box down with her. She was fluid and she was graceful, landing on the second floor with a muffled tap before backing up to make room for her redhead friend. Karin had the carrying case with the typewriter in one hand, and the Elvis bottle stuffed down her shirt, freeing up her other hand to hold onto the ladder. Karin deposited the typewriter in Sakura's new room and the pink haired girl followed after.

"I'm gonna get that globe thingy you wanted," Karin called in a tired tone.

Sakura smiled and nodded, reaching into the box to pull out a few bottles at a time. She was almost done unloading when she noticed the black obsidian tucked under a stray flap in the corner. Pulling the cardboard flap up, Sakura spotted a long black obelisk-shaped perfume bottle, only it wasn't like the other AVON products. Sakura grasped it firmly but gently, turning it over to inspect it for markings of identification only to find none. Curious, she reached to unscrew the top but the cap couldn't be found.

"Is this even a bottle?" Sakura asked aloud, turning it over again.

The pads of her fingers caught on the siding and she felt it give a little. Intrigued, she angled the obelisk down and pushed against the side until the tiny panels shifted around one another. It was a puzzle.

Sakura felt her insides flutter in excitement. She loved puzzles, she devoured puzzles. She reveled in the sense of victory she got every time she defeated a small challenge. Anything from word puzzles, to a rubik's cube, to interlocking metal rings made her happy.

The panels were so well made they were nearly invisible unless pulled apart. When slid into the correct position, a line emerged just a hair down from the tip. Once all sides were completed, the seam for the cap would be revealed. Time fell away as she worked at each side, managing to get them all to expose their seams, only to not have three of the four line up, or none of the sides line up. It would have frustrated lesser men, but Sakura was not one to give in.

Catching the light just right, she found where her mistake had been and moved to fix it. She heard the click as all four sides lined up, and separated the cap from the rest of the bottle - if that is what it was anymore. Not really caring what was inside, Sakura twisted off the cap and held the bottle close.

Black plumes of sulfur smelling smoke billowed in angry waves up and over one another, seeping free from the container in her hand. She jerked quickly, afraid of fire, but there was no heat in her hand. Still, the smoke came, writhing with purpose before choking her nostrils and coating her mouth when she tried to breath.

Sakura dropped the bottle and clawed at her face, tasting suffocation. She could feel her throat tightening and her lungs burning. Unable to breath she fell to her knees and heaved, trying to fill her lungs desperately. She could see the ceiling and the room around her, the smoke had dissipated that much, but she still couldn't breath, and her vision was beginning to suffer. Like an altered photograph, the edges of her sight turned black, and that blackness crept further and further, taking over more of her sight until she was near blind. She was caught in the silence of sight.

Unable to see anything, the world went blindly white and she felt like a separate layer stretched out over her body, not quite in control of it or even a part of it anymore.

Then she felt wind.

With a might gasp she snapped back into her body and jerked upwards, nearly head banging into Karin. Rolling onto her side, Sakura sucked air over her teeth and convulsed, taking in too much at once. She coughed so hard her whole body heaved, sounding like she was tearing bedsheets. Karin came up behind her and began patting her back.

"Even breaths, even breaths. Keep breathing, that's the key," Sakura heard Karin say. The red head's normal tone of guarded contempt for the world was gone, replaced with genuine fear. Karin was never in a position to fear anything. She was the type that raged her way out of fear, so hearing her now was weird.

"I'm fine," Sakura rasped, unable to get another word in before she coughed again. She hit the floor with her palm and coughed louder.

"We're out of drinking water, otherwise I would have-"

"I know," Sakura whispered, her eyes red and teary. "Thank you."

Karin pulled Sakura back into a sitting position and the pink haired girl took notice of how her friend's hands trembled all the way. It must have looked really bad. "I heard you fall. When I came in you weren't breathing. I gave you CPR and then you…then that's it. Sakura, what did you do?"

"I-I don't know. I opened up one of the bottles and I thought I saw smoke, but I couldn't breath. Maybe there was a funky odor or some old spores in one of the bottles. I don't know how to explain it."

None too kindly, Karin reached over and grabbed Sakura's face between her fingers, twisting it one way and then the other, staring into the girl's red rimmed eyes and taking in the sudden lack of color in her skin. "You must have done something, you look like crap. When was the last time you ate?"

Sakura jerked her face free, "That's what we were planning on doing next, or don't you remember? Don't look at me like that, I'll be fine."

"Not fine enough to drive, and I'm staying with you overnight. I didn't think it would be dangerous for you, but I guess I was wrong. Just for tonight I should stick close in case you start choking again because of something else."

Sakura wanted to argue and insist she was perfectly fine, but she knew better. Even though she had an unhealthy amount of pride built into her personality, she also had a sense of reason that showed up every now and then. It would be smart and safe to have someone keep an eye on her in case something else unexpected happened. How could she have ever been expected to anticipate that choke fest?

Waving the red head off, she stood. "Do whatever you want,” she walked unevenly down the hallway, “I'm hungry, we're leaving the rest for tomorrow. Food now."

Offering no resistance, Karin followed Sakura down and out of the house, taking the keys when Sakura tried to slide into the driver's seat.

An hour later, they were back in her living room with four different cartons of Chinese food set on the floor. Neither girl bothered sitting at the table in seats like normal people. Instead, they spread out a mat and ate off their cheap plastic plates.

With leftovers packed into the fridge, they dressed and readied for bed before night finally forced them to retire. Karin was still trying to wipe the makeup off from under her eyes when Sakura pulled back the covers on her bed. That was when she noticed the obelisk still on the floor where she left it. Glancing towards the bathroom where Karin still stood, Sakura scooped up the two pieces and twisted the cap back into place, making the structure whole again. Setting it upright on the nightstand, she moved away from it to check in on her friend.

Karin hadn't looked away from the mirror and was running cheap chapstick over her lips, though the motion was limp and her eyes seemed hazy, like she was thinking about something else.

"Did you say your old lady died in this house?" When Sakura nodded Karin stopped coating her lips. "It was a peaceful death, right?"

"She was old and she went in her sleep. Why, are you weird about it?"

"I was thinking about dying." Karin dropped her chapstick into her makeup bag and turned to flick the light off. "Who bothers missing you when you're gone and stuff like that?"

Sakura followed Karin back to the queen sized bed they had cleaned and fitted with new sheets. "You don't think that's sorta deep right before bed?"

"When else are you supposed to think about these sorts of things? You almost died today."

Sakura paused before slipping under the covers. Karin had already piled up her pillows and was punching them into shape. It was a funny turn of events, since the whole reason the girls were friends stemmed from the fact that Sakura had stopped Karin from committing suicide after a long history of Karin tormenting and harassing everyone she could. Sakura had been a special target of some of Karin's worst 'pranks.' Back in high-school, if someone had told Sakura that Karin would one day become her closest friend and get freaked out about the possibility of losing Sakura, there would have been no way Sakura would believe such words. But life was funny that way.

"You're the only one."

Sakura shook her head to free herself from her thoughts. "What?"

Karin had taken off her glasses but had no trouble finding Sakura's face to glare at it, "Only you are not allowed to die. I don't give two shits about anyone else. Shut up and go to sleep."

It didn't take long for the pair of them to doze off. Karin soon became trapped in a peaceful slumber that was periodically interrupted every now and then when she flailed out. Sakura on the other hand, had a sleep that could be described as anything but peaceful.

* * *

_"My soul is from elsewhere, I'm sure of that, and I intend to end up there."  
_ _— Rumi, The Soul of Rumi_

* * *

She could taste the smoke; feel the cold swallowing her bit by bit. Soon, she was nothing but a thing made of marble stone, unable to move and chilled through and through. Only the smoke kept her from becoming wholly one with the landscape around her. She was in a garden of statues, and she was one of many.

Unable to move, she began to panic. Sakura had never been good with small spaces, and like many people, had bouts of claustrophobia when she became confined against her will. The loss of freedom to move at will and the loss of power to go as she pleased made her scream, but her mouth was made of stone. No sound came out.

Then the smoke was inside of her again, spiraling down her throat and flooding her body with a dirty feeling. Her core began to burn and the sensation of pins and needles grew over her body as life came back into her limbs. She screamed, and the smoke inside her flared with a roar. Fire burned her out and at last she was free.

When she fell, it was only a foot at the most, but she landed on lush carpets of grass; it didn't feel like she fell at all. She spread her fingers and dug her nails into the dirt, trapping blades of green in her hands and ripping them up when she stood. She swayed a little, still tasting the smoke, but knew the foreign entity was gone from her body.

She was free and she was alone.

"Where the hell…?" she moaned, still feeling distant from her body, "Where am I?"

All around here were hedges and greenery. She was in a garden, one of the fancy English gardens that nobles and kings boasted of from back in ancient times. Strewn through the hedges were marble pedestals with figures frozen in time. Men and women, nearly all of them beautiful and ethereal in some way, lined the walls of the garden.

Sakura reached out to touch one but pulled back her hand as if stung when she felt the icy surface. Had that been her?

Disturbed by the nature of her surroundings, Sakura took off, running blindly into the foliage. There were peonies and roses and all other sorts of flowers she didn't recognize wherever she turned. In between all these flowers were more statues.

"No!" She ran faster, "This can't be happening."

She should have realized it was a dream, but trapped in a dream so vivid, the thought never occurred to her. Her thoughts were clouded and foggy; only her most basic functions were under her command as panic nested in her heart.

There was a flash of shadow and then a spark of red, the red of a dying ember, and Sakura tripped to a halt. The cloud of smoke was slithering out and around itself like a serpent, burning in places without a true fire. It twisted towards her and then snapped back, before turning around and heading off.

Not knowing what else to do, Sakura ran after it, her bare feet thundering across the earth as her mind became more plagued with worry. She was dying. Karin had been on to something, Karin had sensed it. Sakura was going to die this time. She had cheated death too many times to be so lucky for long. This time she was going to die. She would never graduate and save the world with medicine, never date, never marry, never find a reason as to why her father had-

Sakura's thoughts flashed to white as her body jerked to a stop. The smoke hovered in mid air before twisting once and dissipating into nothing. Before her stood an old Victorian greenhouse with brass lettering curved above the front doors. The greenhouse was old and seemed poorly taken care of, but the letters were easy enough to read.

"The Marble Garden," Sakura read aloud. Glancing back over her shoulder she spotted more statues made out of marble. It made sense. Sakura blinked, and then turned back towards the green house. It was so large it reached up above her line of vision. She had to stretch back to see its end but the sun met her eyes and she had to look away. While recovering, that is when she saw it.

The obelisk from her nightstand stood tall in the distance, trapped on the other side of the door before her.

All at once, she remembered what reality felt like, and remembered what dreams were. The knowledge weighed her down. Fighting against the new weight, Sakura lifted her hand and dropped it against the door's brass handles. They wiggled, but wouldn't bend to her wishes. Sakura huffed and tried again, but couldn't manage to make her fingers curl.

Deep inside her was the need to open the door in front of her. Somehow she knew, without a reason or doubt, that if she could get through the door and to the obelisk, she would be okay.

"Please," she whispered into the air. "Just open for me, please."

She felt cold again.

Sakura tilted forward and tried to grab onto the handle before she turned back to stone, no longer able to feel her fingers. Her hand was stiff above the door handle, but wouldn't move any more. Sakura felt moisture on her cheeks and wetness in her eyes. This wasn't happening. This was a dream. She just needed to wake up. She just needed to get through, she just needed to reach it, she just needed to get to the obelisk.

She didn't know how it happened, since she was unable to turn. But the smoke was back, and out of it emerged a black hand. That hand was strong and solid as it came down on the handle and pushed the door open. Sakura felt the hand reach for her back and push her forward. She was swallowed by a burning whiteness before she could see the body of the man who had helped her.

Sakura jolted forward with a start, sucking air like a drowned woman. Karin jerked awake beside her and was quick to turn on a lamp light and grab at her friend. Sakura screamed and jerked away, still not fully awake, but Karin was stronger and able to hold Sakura down until the girl woke up.

"-Just a dream. Sakura, can you hear me? Wake up. You were dreaming. It was just a dream. Sakura."

The outlines of Karin matched up and suddenly there was only one figure hovering over Sakura, not three. The lights were gone and the garden was no more. 

"I'm awake,” Sakura sighed, slumped in Karin’s hold.

Karin breathed a sigh of relief and released her friend, "Damn it, what the hell did you do? You're whiter than coke."

Sakura shivered and moved to wrap her arms around herself, "I'm sorry. I woke you up."

"No one gives a shit. Are you alright?" When Sakura nodded Karin pulled back on the covers, fixing them, "Then try going back to sleep. You shouldn't dream again if it's only for a few hours. It's like…almost five AM. That's not too late."

"Sorry. I must have scared you. I…" Sakura let her words trail off as she pulled the sheets around her and burrowed into her pillow. Shivering with the memory, she drew her blankets tighter.

Karin looked shaken, but didn't say anything more. She sighed, turned off the light and laid back down, not saying anything more.

* * *

_"What happens to a dream deferred? Does it dry up like a raisin in the sun? Or fester like a sore— And then run? Does it stink like rotten meat? Or crust and sugar over— like a syrupy sweet? Maybe it just sags like a heavy load. Or does it explode?"  
_ _— Langston Hughes_

* * *

When Sakura awoke in the morning for the second time, she was alone and the sun was high in the windows. She blinked, shielding her eyes as dust mites danced in and out of sun beams.

Hearing Karin downstairs, she slid out and made her way over to the bathroom. The water had been turned on, but it was still wonky, so she skipped the shower and just settled with brushing her teeth and fixing her hair before going downstairs to meet her friend. Judging from the mess left in the sink and the stray red hairs scattered across the tiled floor, Karin had already been up and used the bathroom for herself.

Before even reaching the bottom floor Sakura smelled the won ton soup from last night's dinner. Walking into the kitchen she found Karin sipping at it from a mug. A second mug sat across the small table and Sakura took it, sipping the soup like it was coffee because it was all they had.

"Next time you come to visit, I'll have groceries."

"Next time I'm bringing my own crap," Karin growled over the rim of her mug.

Sakura blinked, "You sound like sunshine in a bottle. You slept, right?"

"Somewhat," Karin said with a shrug, "Better than you, I guess."

Sakura tasted the soup and licked the substance off her lips, "Thanks for not freaking out on me. I didn't think I would react like that, I never have nightmares anymore. I never…actually, I don't think I can remember the last time I ever had a dream. That's so not me."

"Don't make it a habit. I doubt my folks would appreciate me skipping out on them any more than I already have."

As if on cue, the cherry red iphone in Karin's back pocket lit up with a flash and a familiar single.

_No money, no family. Sixteen in the middle of Miami. No money, no family. Sixteen in the middle of Miami. No money-_

She slid to answer the call, licking an abused corner of her lip she liked to bite. "Yeah?"

Not meaning to, Sakura managed to hear everything, as Karin's father was loud and unfiltered. Bored, Karin pulled her phone away from her ear and rolled her eyes as her father lectured her about the dangers of a young girl going off on her own and how disrespectful it was to skip out on work and not call home. After a minute he simmered down to the point where he had to cough and catch his breath. Karin took the opening.

"I texted you, learn to open your mailbox by now. I told you I would be staying over at Sakura's. She fainted on me and refused to go to a hospital, so I had to stay behind and watch her and make sure it wasn't something serious. You can't expect me to just leave my best friend after something so serious, can you?"

Her father was still breathing heavy, "O-oh. You were with Sakura all night?"

"I'm with her right now. I was good and made her breakfast. I can put her on if you don't believe me."

There was a loud gruff sound on the other side of the line and then her father spoke up again, "No, I believe you,” he huffed, “But you still skipped out on work! Come home as soon as possible to make it up; Those two brats had to pull double shifts to keep up with the traffic."

"I'm sure they'll live."

The brats Karin and her father were referring to were Suigetsu and Juugo, part timers her father hired to help run the pizza parlor and drive the delivery orders. They were recent hires, picked up to replace the boy who used to work with them after said boy kindly broke Karin's heart, crushed her spirit, and walked out to live life with the fancy names of New York's finest.

Karin's father knew his daughter had been in a bad spot after that and the only person Karin ever let get close to her from then on was Sakura. He trusted Karin with Sakura, and more importantly, he trusted Sakura with Karin. Because even though Sakura sported outrageously dyed hair and more than two piercings, she didn't bring Karin drugs or drink and kept the redhead from disregarding her body with cheap dates and faceless partners.

"I'm sure Sue and June are devastated that they didn't get to see you," Sakura cooed over her cup, knowing well that both of the two boys had feelings for Karin; one more than the other.

Karin stuck out her tongue and made a face with her eyes wide. Sakura returned the gesture.

"Just come home as soon as possible, Kare bear."

"Daaaaad," Karin groaned, hating the old nickname. "Yeah, whatever, I'm leaving soon. Yeah…..love you too. Bye."

Disconnecting the call, she dropped her phone onto the table and sighed, "I made you breakfast, drive me home."

"I said I would. Don't be snappy about it," Sakura replied. She tipped her mug back and the rest of the soup drained down the back of her throat, "I'm going to pump some water from the well and then we can go."

Karin raised a single brow. "Dressed like that?"

Sakura still sported her pajama top and bottom, complete with wrinkles. Karin was already dressed in skin tight shorts with shredded ends, a dark Black Sabbath band tee and a denim vest that cut off mid way. Her high top converse were turned down and the shoelaces dangled.

Leaving her mug in the sink, Sakura left to draw the water from the well and make sure the house was getting water without issue, before slipping upstairs to change. Pulling wrinkled articles of clothing out of her duffle bag, she changed into fabric floral shorts and a white button up short sleeve she tied and knotted in the front. A band of skin peaked out from between the two ends, showing off her figure.

Combing her hair up into a messy bun, she paused when she caught sight of the obelisk on her nightstand. For a second, her fingertips went cold against her scalp and she thought she was stone again.

"It's just a dream," she whispered to herself. Blinking hard, she forced the image out of her mind. "It _was_ just a dream."

She took the stairs two at a time and only stopped at the front door to pick up her doc martens and slip them on. Karin took notice and she rose from her seat in the kitchen to join Sakura. She stopped when she noticed the difficulty Sakura had with her laces.

"You're white again."

"I've always been Caucasian."

"You know what I mean, brat."

"I'm fine enough to drive," Sakura responded, and though she didn't feel it, the voice that came out of her mouth was strong and confident. There was no room for fear in her voice, but it was there, nestled deep in her heart.

Pretending to be convinced, Karin shrugged. "If you say so."

Sakura put a cassette of Fleetwood Mac on loud and drove Karin home before Rumors had to be turned over a second time. Karin left without pushing the issue, but she threatened Sakura with showing up unannounced if Sakura didn't check in regularly via text and skype once her laptop was set up and fished out of the packaging. Sakura knew it was useless to try and say anything but yes, so she promised wholly and honestly before driving off to shop for food and other living needs at the local grocery store.

Hours later, she arrived back home and felt the weight of her solitude.

"God, what did I just do?" she asked aloud.

Squeezing her eyes shut, she breathed a deep sigh and stepped out of the car. It took her a few trips to get everything in, but by the time she was done it was far too early, and she had absolutely no idea what to do with herself. Everything that interested her, like writing and reading or sketching, was totally impossible with her heart poised to start hammering at the drop of a hat.

"Music, that's what I need."

A few months back, she had sprang for a nice record player to accompany the five vinyls she owned. She was a purist and liked the feel of music when it sprang from a needle. Thankfully, her grandmother was of the same opinion, because she had quite a few records and a player of her own.

Nina Simone's iconic piano work came up on the record as the old jazz artist's work filled the room. Sinner Man followed Sakura throughout the house as she gave everything a one over before heading up to her room. She could still hear the soulful cries when she crossed the threshold and stopped in front of the Obelisk.

Without hesitation, she unscrewed the cap and turned the vial upside down. Nothing happened. There was no smoke, no marble garden, no hand reaching out through the darkness to help her, nothing. Not exactly disappointed, Sakura sat down on the edge of her bed and turned the figure over in her hands. Four sides, four long panels for the base, and four short panels for the cap. Each one was made up of dark obsidian that gleamed like captured fire.

She turned the cap over and was surprised when a single side stood out against the others, being made of pure white mother of pearl. That was different. She remembered all the sides being black obsidian! Sakura rubbed at the mother of pearl, trying to wipe it away, and then tried the same with the rest of the sides, thinking maybe it was a coating that fell away.

'It's because of the Marble Gardens.'

Sakura dropped the pieces on the floor and backed up onto her bed, pulling up her feet and pulling them tight against her body. That hadn't been her voice in her head.

"No, it was just a nightmare, it was just a dream. You're fine, Sakura, you're fine."

But she wasn't, and she knew it.

When she looked up, the smoke stood in her bedroom shaped in the figure of a young boy. 

Sakura couldn't scream. She was stone again; at least that was how she felt. Tears ran down her face as she contemplated what this meant. She had finally cracked. She was broken just like her mother, only worse.

'Not broken,' the boy's voice echoed inside her head.

She squeezed her eyes shut, and when she opened them again, she was alone. Whatever smoke figure she thought she saw was gone, like it had never been there. It was late, and she was tired- She had just imagined it.

Collecting a few things, Sakura straightened out her room and made for the downstairs kitchen to bake herself half a loaf of bread with tomato sauce and cheese toppings- gifts from Karin's father. She sat by herself at the table and checked her phone for messages and texts. There were a few from Karin, a handful from the university, and even one from the library, but none from her mother.

Sakura tried to call, but the line just rang and rang. Her mother had an old landline with no answering machine. That phone would ring forever if Sakura let it, so she didn't after seven even rings. That wasn't surprising though.

Feeling better after food, Sakura pulled out a new text book and began to skim the first chapter of pharmaceutical drugs and their uses. One of the girls a year ahead of her had left Sakura her notes from the class, and Sakura wanted to get a head start so that she might be able to skip and still do well. Before she knew it, the sky was black outside and she had to light up the house to keep reading. Changing out the record player, she exchanged Nina Simone for something new. Hesitating, Sakura found the vinyl she had chosen scratched, so she plugged in her ipod and set it to shuffle from an old 50's playlist.

She read through Tutti Frutti by Little Richard, some Frank Sinatra, and began to feel the pulls of exhaustion as the Chordettes came on with their single, Lollipop. Not wanting to go upstairs and sleep in the same bed as last night, Sakura tossed down her books and exchanged them for a blanket and pillow. It was cool enough that all she needed was something to wrap around her shoulders. Somehow, Lollipop faded out to the rhythmic clapping of Mr. Sandman's iconic intro. Thinking she was bad for forgetting to brush her teeth, Sakura drifted off just as the four female voices came on together to ask for Mr. Sandman to 'bring them a dream.'

Mr. Sandman, bring me a dream (Bung, bung, bung, bung) Make him the cutest that I've ever seen (Bung, bung, bung, bung) Give him two lips like roses and clover (Bung, bung, bung, bung) Then tell him that his lonesome nights are over.

* * *

_"When you live in the dark for so long, you begin to love it. And it loves you back, and isn't that the point?  
You think, the face turns to the shadows, and just as well. It accepts, it heals, it allows. But it also devours."  
_ _— Carver, Raymond. Late Fragment_

* * *

Sakura woke standing up. She pitched but caught herself before she could complete the fall. A bell made her turn her head in the direction of the sound.

She was standing in front of a small vintage gas station from the fifties, with the white and green rounded pumps. Up ahead, the iconic green dinosaur from the Sinclair logo turned as an aquamarine Cadillac pulled out. A minute later, a cherry red Chevy pulled in. Two attendants rushed to pump gas into the car, wipe down the windows and fill the tires with air. Fascinating Rhythm by Benny Goodman played in the background.

Once they were done, the bell rang again and the man in the car drove off, leaving his three dollars behind to pay for the gas and a shiny coin for each of the attendants. Her eyes followed the Chevy as it pulled out but were distracted by a gleam of green glass bouncing sunbeams off its surface. Sakura felt something in her stomach drop. The old Victorian greenhouse was much smaller and obscured by encroaching flora and low growing greenery. She might not have recognized it as the place from her previous nightmare if 'The Marble Gardens' wasn't written across the double door entrance.

_Nightmare._

Something caught up with Sakura in her head, and she felt awareness rush upon her like a salty wave, shaking the very foundation of her footing. That greenhouse was from a dream, meaning she was in a dream now.

"I'm dreaming," she said aloud.

Reaching up, she meant to run her fingers through her hair, but found them caught by the presence of a cherry red headband tied down tight over her pin curls. Looking down, she was dressed in a modest red and white pok-a-dot spring dress that reached below her knees in a flare. If this was the era she thought it was, she was certainly dressed for the occasion.

"But at least this time, I'm not dying or surrounded by creepy statues. I can't see how this world could be scary."

Maybe it was because she and Karin spent so much time idolizing the Rockabilly era that the sense of dread she expected was strikingly absent. The gardens that nearly killed her were close, but that didn't matter. This was a different dream, and she was aware; things would be different.

She could see the beginnings of town close by, and she knew it would be an easy walk, but she decided to approach the two attendants at the gas pumps first. With each step she grew more sure of herself and more determined in her resolve. In the last dream she had woken up after reaching the door that separated her from the Obelisk. She needed to find that structure here in this dream in order to move on but this time there were people around.

The younger attendant noticed her first and was quick to awkwardly snap to attention by removing his cap and combing back his hair with his hand before trying to smooth down the front of his work uniform. The other attendant who was older noticed the change in his companion and glanced back to see what the fuss was about before mimicking the self care gestures.

"Mornin' ma'am. How you be doin’ today?" The younger attendant stuttered with a smile and a blush. It made his bright blue eyes stand out all the more in contrast.

"Good so far, thank you." Sakura smiled and folded her hands in front of her the way she imagined a lady would. Mentally she channeled golden Hollywood stars and thought of the way Audrey Hepburn and Grace Kelly carried themselves. What words would Elizabeth Taylor use? "I was just on my way into town when I thought I would ask you two gentlemen if you've ever seen a black tower. In this county."

"Golly miss, a black tower?" The young boy rubbed the underside of his chin. "Can't say I have, um, unless you mean the clock tower, but that one's not black."

"A black tower is a funny thing to be looking for, miss." The second attendant said, looking less starstruck than his counterpart, but in no way indifferent. He smiled wide with ease and the beginnings of age showed in his skin as his smile lines grew. "Are you sure there isn't something else you were looking for? We could open a map for you."

She hadn't known how they would react to the funny request, or if they would find it funny at all. It was a dream, but it felt real and people in the real world would think a random girl asking about black towers an odd sight. But at least she knew what to expect a bit better.

"Oh no, that won't be necessary. My friend left me a funny riddle and I thought the answer was 'black tower,' but it probably was just 'clock tower,' like you suggested. I should make my way over there now. Thank you. You have both been very helpful and very kind."

"Anytime, sweetheart," the older attendant drawled, and the southern heaviness peaked through.

The younger attendant struggled with his own reply, but whatever he was about to say was cut short when a low rumble cut into the peace. At the sound the two attendants stiffened and the blond drew closer to her. A moment later the roar was too loud to ignore. She saw the dust rising before the bikes that were undoubtedly the source of the thunder. The blond took a step to stand in front of her and shield her from the dust and the sight, but Sakura could peer over his shoulder well enough in her cherry colored heels.

Greasers.

There were at least five of them, maybe more. Black bikes and black leather, they were iconic and eye catching. One with slicked back red hair and dark chocolate shaded eyes caught her staring. Hidden behind the pump attendant she knew, felt it in her bones, that he could see her and was staring straight at her the way she was staring back at him. He had a young face with pale, china smooth skin and lashes darker than any ginger had a right to.

She saw all of him in a second before he was gone, caught up in the whirlwind of dust and debris left flying from his wake in spite of the long stretch of asphalt that should have kept the roads clean. The wall of dust crossed over them, causing her to cough and then to sneeze and then cough some more. It was unsettling how the sensation reminded her of smoke invading her body.

"Are you okay?" the young attendant asked. His tone was one of worry, but didn't see the need for it. He still stood imposingly close, broad shoulders spread like a shield for her convenience. She noted he was taller than her by only a head, but he was well built with a strong body and thick arms. He was young, but work was no stranger to his body, it seemed.

"I'm fine, just dust in my throat is all," She coughed once again, unable to repress the memory. "That was incredibly rude. Who were they?"

"Morning Rovers." This time it was the older male who had answered. He was brushing dust off his sleeves before holding up a finger and heading inside the store.

"That doesn't sound dangerous at all," she sarcastically replied. "I hope they're not regulars."

The blonde shrugged. "That's what it seems like this time around. They've been showing up more and more recently to hang at the Neptune Diner. That means trouble for the Lettermen that dine there just as well."

Sakura had to think a second before she recognized the term used for jocks in this era. Before they were jocks they were lettermen based off the letters on the jackets they earned.

"Here."

Sakura turned at the sound and found the second attendant offering her a coke in a curved glass bottle. The cap had been popped off and the smell of heady old fashioned soda met her senses. It was heavier than the soda she was used to and she reached for it before she even knew what she was doing. "Thank you."

"For the throat. You should be careful if you want to go into town. They shouldn't make trouble in broad daylight, but they're rowdy and rude."

"You don't have to go into town, do you? If you're new, today might not-" the younger boy began to say, but was cut off by a look from his elder. With a disgruntled expression, he pressed his lips together and nodded like a chastised child.

Even if he was part of a dream, Sakura thought it was a sweet gesture to be concerned for her safety, so she smiled at him. The tightness in his face eased up and she saw shades of pink grow across his cheeks. His Adam's apple bobbed as he swallowed.

"Thank you for your concern, but I think I should be fine," Not quite finished with the drink she took one last sip before handing it back to the older male, "And thank you for the drink, that was terribly considerate, but I should be going."

"Will we see you around town then?" the younger asked.

"Maybe. My name is Sakura, by the way."

The blond put a hand on his chest, right below the collar of his shirt. "My name's Naruto, this old cube's Kakashi. Just ask for us at the pump here or at the auto repair shop in town. Sometimes I-er, I mean, sometimes we both work there."

A car was coming up, getting ready to pull in, gaining Kakashi's attention. He was already walking towards it, snapping at Naruto to come along as well. The blond made a small sound of displeasure at the back of his throat, but followed his elder all the same. With a final backwards wave, Sakura left for the road and followed it out towards the town she could already see.

It was like something out of an advertisement of the ideal small time 1950's town. If she didn't know better, she would have sworn she had seen the same exact town printed on a postcard at the retro nostalgia thrift store she and Karin frequented. There was a main street and a green circle in the middle where a fountain surrounded by park benches attracted attention. On either side of the street, old cars lined the parking slots and passed by at leisurely crawls. There was a barber shop, a cinema, an auto repair shop, a post office, a grocery store, a diner and a few other colorful shops in between.

Standing tall and somewhat apart from the rest, was a three story tall brick front building with a clock set up at the top. It reminded her of the clock tower from the Back to the Future movies. For whatever reason, the building stood out to her. The same could be said for the people.

There were people on the sidewalks and people in their cars, and they all had faces, but for some reason it was hard for Sakura to focus on them. Their faces were harder to distinguish. It had been easy for her to see Naruto or Kakashi, but the people in their cars, pulling in and out, they had been blurry like this too. Was that because they were part of her dream?

Heading for the clock tower, she skipped up the steps and slipped inside, noticing like an afterthought, the cluster of motorcycles and hot rods parked outside the Jupiter Diner.

She felt the marble run shocks up through her heels when it gave no give. It was solid and unmoving. Smooth and gleaming, it stretched out all around her. The rest of the room was bare except for benches along the wall, a circular desk and a set of large stairs leading upwards. If she had looked closer, she might have seen doors or other details to the room, but there was something else that caught her eye.

It was another person, but this one wasn't like the others she couldn't focus on. Where everyone else had faded out fuzzy faces, this individual had sharp angles and clearly defined edges to the points of his face. In addition to his clarity, the person in question was staring straight at her with a gaze full of intention.

He was dressed all in black. Black jeans, black hair, black sweater with the sleeves pushed up to his elbows, black shoes, black eyes, and black bags under those eyes. Sakura recognized the style; he was what they called a beatnik, an anti-conformist, 'beaten' down member of society.

She wasn't far from where he sat, making her close enough to hear the words that came out of his mouth. "It didn't take you long to find this place. What gave it away?"

"Excuse me?" Sakura crossed the room to stand in front of the boy, keeping only enough distance between his shoes and her heels to preserve the security of her personal bubble.

His voice was toneless and his smile was fake when he looked up at her. It was like she was staring at a mask. "This is where you should be. If I was genuinely curious I would ask again, but how you managed to lead yourself here is of no importance. You're here now, and that is what matters."

Something clicked into place in Sakura's brain and the realization must have shown on her face. "You know this is all part of my dream."

"Admitting that can be dangerous. If you think of this dream as it really is, the seams will begin to show, and we can't have the tent coming down on us, can we? And in all fairness, this isn't exactly a dream. Have you ever dreamed in such a way before?"

"I rarely dream."

"Nothing this vivid?"

No. Not even remotely so. Sakura dreamed as much as the next kid on the block, but her dreams were usually of the academic nature (I showed up late to class and missed a whole semester), or wholly forgettable by the time she woke up from them. What he was saying was true, but the longer he stared at her with that plaster fake smile made her less and less willing to open her mouth and give him the satisfaction of confirming his statement. Her fingers twitch at her sides, itching to reach out and scratch away the surface of his face in order to see what lie underneath.

"Who are you?" She was thankful she sounded strong, even if she didn't feel it. Her voice was firmer than it should have been for how hard her heart was hammering in her chest.

The fake smile stretched further on his face. "I am the Sigh of Dejection, the boy who guides the Appointed, bane of hate, bastard born, ash formed, and the knower of hidden ways. You may call me Sai for short."

Her mouth went dry with the memory of smoke rushing down her throat. She saw the smoke in her bedroom, the body it took on, and the human hand it hid within from when she was trapped in the gardens.

"You're the smoke."

"Ash formed, yes I am." He tipped his head in her direction. "I am also your guide."

"What does that mean?"

Instead of replying, Sai stood and moved towards the staircase. Knowing without being told, Sakura followed silently.

While elegant on the first floor, the stairs on the second floor that lead to the third floor were less impressive and smaller. Sai moved faster, and Sakura had to forget the pinch of her heels as she took the stairs two at a time. Passing through a door in the floor, the intimate skeleton of the structure became exposed all around them. Sakura saw the gears and cogs that made the clock keep time as well as the rafters and naked poles that kept the rest of the building up.

Sai reached for her hand and she jerked back before thinking about it on reflex. He stayed frozen in that moment, hand outstretched, fingers bent. After a hesitant breath Sakura reached out and took his hand. He was not as quick to grasp it, and held her hand like it was something fragile.

Sai led her to the back of the clock face and unlocked the small door that led out onto the ledge, but didn't pass through. Instead he pointed out and down at something. Sakura saw a flash of silver reflecting the sun and realized it was the roof of the diner with all the bikes outside.

"Neptune Diner is the center of this Kingdom. Without saying too much, in order to move onto the second gate you must save this kingdom."

Sakura frowned, leaning away from the opening. "I feel like you're trying to tell me something but your words are getting in the way of making sense. What the hell is going on?"

"You are within the Dead-Night Obelisk of Apep."

There was a ripple in the world outside and Sakura felt it in her bones. Sai's words reminded him of the obelisk puzzle that started all of this crazy dreaming. With four sides and eight panels, seven of them being pitch black, it seemed to be the root of all her crazy.

"What did I do and how do I undo it?"

Sai turned to face her fully and the smile from before was absent from his features. "The easiest way for you to think about this is to consider it a game. It was once considered a puzzle of the mind but 'game' is more accurate a term since the invention of your adventure video consoles."

 _Video games_ , she mentally corrected him.

Sai held up his hands to accompany his words with air quotes. "In this 'video game' there are eight so-called 'levels' for you to pass through; four gates and four kingdoms. Gates are designed to keep you out of the kingdom and protect the kingdom from inferiors. Once successfully navigated, the gate token will purify on the actual totem in your world."

"That's why the obelisk turned white in my world."

Sai nodded. "You successfully passed through the Marble Gardens, which is the first of four gates. You are now in the Neptune Diner's _Jukebox Hollow Kingdom_. In order to advance, you must fulfill an objective."

"And if I don't?"

"You never move on. Every dream from every sleep or moment of unconsciousness will belong to this world, until you reach the end.

Sakura tried to imagine how terrible that could be and was disappointed. "Is it really that bad of a thing?"

"That is something you will have to decide for yourself. Others have not thought it to be pleasant after prolonged periods. These worlds don't last in such states for long before regressing to nakedness. Madness often settles in the dreamer."

Something invaded the inside of her mind and the world flashed around Sakura. She saw images that cut in and out like strobe lights at a rave. White rooms with bleeding walls, silver basins, black hair knotted into a noose around her throat, knives, nightgowns made out of paper, glass walled cages, water, smoke and fire and then nothing. The vision left her reeling and when she reached out to steady herself on Sai he didn't react in the slightest. Without moving towards or away from her, he stood steadfast. Sucking air through her teeth, she found her balance once again. When she stood straight again her features were dark and her eyes were set into a sharp glare.

"Don't do that ever again."

"I won't." There was no emotion to his words, so Sakura couldn't get a feel for what he was thinking if he was thinking about anything at all. He was a product of her dreams, so it was likely he didn't think or even feel like a human would.

"You shouldn't be too concerned. It takes years for a kingdom to break down, and you were able to pass through the first gate faster than most. It won't take you years to advance through the kingdoms. Your imagination is rich, not like the others."

" _Others_?"

"Those who have come before and died before completing the quest."

Sakura thought back to all the stone statues in the garden and shivered, not wanting to know if her hunch was correct or not. "Did you ever help any of them?"

Sai did not answer right away. There was a pregnant pause between her question and his reply. When he did part his lips to speak, his voice was thicker with sound, swelling with it. "No."

If there was more he wanted to say he kept it to himself, making the space between them stale and uncomfortable. Had he broken a rule in helping her or committed a taboo with his assistance? If these were levels in a game, and he did something for her that she couldn't on her own, wouldn't that be cheating?

If her hair had been down, this would have been the opportune moment for her to flip it back over her shoulder and play with it behind her ears. She didn't think she liked Sai, she certainly disliked his fake smile, but if he had helped her against the rules, she had to be grateful. He might not be good, but it didn't look like he was bad or a source of evil.

He watched her as she moved back to the doorway and glanced down at the diner. The motorcycles were still parked next to the hot rods and she could almost hear the noise their voices made from inside. She wondered if the red headed greaser was inside, and if so, what was he doing?

"I still don't believe this isn't something I dreamed up on my own," Sakura crossed her arms under her chest and glanced back over her shoulder at the dark haired youth, "You're probably not real. None of this is real."

Sai took a step towards her, "Then what's the harm in playing along?"

She felt his hands on her back and had just enough time to gape before her heels tipped and her body pitched straight out. She fell through the air, hair unbound and free, straight down until she landed with a thud on the living room floor, her legs tangled around a length of tangled sheets.

Thankfully Sakura had a full day of work to keep her mind and body busy. Monday and Wednesdays she was a 'visiting angel' that helped elderly clients with house maintenance and other difficult chores. Two hours at four houses each, and she was done for the day. She had made it nearly twelve hours without having to think about the dreams when the traffic stopped her dead in the street, and trapped her inside her stuffy station wagon.

Sakura tried to call her mother again, just for someone to talk to, but once again the land line did nothing but ring and ring and ring. Karin was busy with her dad as well, but Sakura could at least leave a message.

"So…if I cut off my leg and swing it at you…is that considered me kicking you or me hitting you? 'Cause I'm not so sure I know the answer anymore. I thought it would be hitting at first but I now doubt. Evening traffic does that to you. I doubt everything. Like, what are the symptoms of being fergalicious? Thanks for keeping me entertained. I'll talk to you soon."

* * *

_"Magic does that. It wastes you away. Once it grips you by the ear, the real world gets quieter and quieter, until you can hardly hear it at all."  
_ _― Catherynne M. Valente, Deathless_

* * *

_Beeeeeep_

Left with nothing else to do, Sakura turned to the radio and made sure the post modern hits blared. It was the farthest thing from 1950's rock and roll, but somehow 30 Seconds to Mars turned into Elvis, and Vampire Weekend became Doo Wop. When she closed her eyes, the one thing she tried her hardest not to think about was the one thing her mind went straight to.

"What does it matter if I believe in it or not?" she asked aloud, punching the volume button on her radio, sending her back into silence.

Sakura liked to believe she was a realist. Maybe when she was younger she would have believed in something like this, but she was well past the age of magic mermaids and unicorns. People who believed they could see things and talk to little people were the types she sorted prescriptions for. Her grandmother had been one of those types, though no one ever talked about it since it was so well hidden.

Is that why she had the obelisk in her house?

Someone behind her honked loudly and Sakura snapped out in time to pull up the extra two and a half feet and continue the crawl until her exit came up on the right hand side. Angrily flipping on her blinker, she pulled off the pavement to make it around a couple of cars who weren't exiting. Her lights flashed angrily up and down as she bounced in and out of a ditch without issue.

By the time she was close to her road, it was well past dark and the rural road looked angry and overgrown. There were a couple of houses that shared the same skinny two way road that looked more like a driveway than any public street had a right to. Sakura's was at the far end and took up the most land.

Parking inside the tin roofed shed that stood detached from the rest of the house, Sakura made sure to brake before she hit the far end with her monster sized grill again. Her Station Wagon was a special sort of beast; it was larger than it needed to be and a huge pain in the butt to maneuver, but it was safe and sort of made her feel like a badass when pulled up alongside hybrids. Karin had affectionately dubbed it the Behemoth, and the name sort of stuck.

Bringing her things in, Sakura locked the back door again and set to making a pasta dinner for one. Her phone buzzed on the table and Sakura saw it was from Karin.

K: it's hitting

K: and disturbing

K: I'm worried about you

Sakura set aside the Prego pasta sauce and typed out a reply with two fingers.

S: When do you not worry about me?

K: when you're dead

K: no way your not getting into heaven, but earth will fck u ovr

S: Good thing I'm not built to last.

K: also, the symptoms of being fergalicious is the same as milkshakes

S: All the boys to the yard?

K: and they're like, it's better than yours

K: dam right its better than yours

K why does dam look funny?

S: It's damn, yours is the water blocking kind.

K: I got you to cuss, I'm screensaving this and showing it to your mom.

There was a break in the conversation where Sakura assumed Karin was pulled away from her phone. A few minutes later there was a new text, but Sakura had to finish with the pasta on the stove before looking in and answering it.

K: You're invited to come for dinner tomorrow night. The fam is worried about their other daughter.

S: I'm glad someone worries. :)

K: Mom?

S: Who else?

K: We promise to make something other than pizza. Whatever you want.

S: You know me, I'll eat whatever. Speaking of dinner, I'm making mine now. Can I come by early tomorrow?

K: no work?

S: That was today.

K: I'll see you around 1:00 PM

Sakura tapped the time and saved it to her calendar, even though she knew she wouldn't need the reminder. Sending an animated cat that grinned with human teeth, Sakura shut off her phone and sat down to eat, but eating only took so long before she was back to having nothing to do. Cleaning up took less time than it should have, too; changing and brushing her teeth took even less.

Her body was tired from the full day of work, and Sakura knew she was used to crashing early on work nights, but sleep was something she wanted to put off as long as possible for obvious reasons.

There was an old television set with the knobs meant for changing channels on the front set up in the living room. It was dusty, and its top was covered in books and photo frames. Sakura tried to turn it on, but found it unplugged. After a few minutes she got it to come on, but there was no cable, so all she saw was snow. There were a few basic channels that came in, but even those were not in the best quality and mostly of the boring kind. News, Spanish drama, shopping channels, nothing but infomercials, oldies- Sakura stopped flipping. An old episode of the Twilight zone was on. That was worth watching.

She got through two episodes before the quiet little town where nothing strange ever went wrong suddenly bled into color and swallowed her whole.

"Damn it."

* * *

_“All that we see or seem is but a dream within a dream."  
_ _― Edgar Allan Poe_

* * *

Sakura stumbled forward on the sidewalk, having been pushed aside by a man's shoulder. Standing up, she found herself back in the town from last night's dreamscape. Her dress was different from last time. This time it was the same shade of green as her eyes with a white trail of buttons down the back. Her hair was curled and pear studs sat in her earlobes. Stopping in front of a shop window, she saw her lips were painted red as well.

As annoyed as she wanted to be with waking up in the same dream again, she had to admit, begrudgingly, that it was fun to play dress up. If only Karin were here for this part. The two of them would have so much fun with it.

"Where am I now?" Sakura turned and saw that she was still inside the town, not far from the clock tower and across the street from the diner, but there were no bikes outside it. What she was standing directly across from was the public library, and while she shouldn't have been able to read anything in a dream, the sign out front was perfectly legible. Clue number two was a motorcycle parked on the street outside.

Deciding there was no better option she could think of, Sakura crossed the street without regarding the traffic twice, and slipped inside. It was quiet and calm, the way she remembered libraries being when her father took her on the weekends. She spied a few people passing through, but all of them had fuzzy faces she couldn't manage to squint into focus, so she ignored them.

The space around her felt too empty where her heels echoed off the marble in soft clicks. Stopping in front of a shelf of books she picked one up and flipped through it. Most of the pages were a mess of gibberish she couldn't decipher, but then halfway through the words began to run into place until they formed coherent sentences.

'The human body is less than-the drug know-the American Drug Association legalized the sale of-' She recognized the text right away as her pharmacy medicine textbook she had been reading recently. So she was able to read some things while inside the dream world… 

Sakura put the book back and reached for a second one, but found it filled with the same words. Only the first and second chapters, the two she finished reading, could be picked out in all the books she tried. Sighing, she slid the book back into place and moved through the isles.

Across the floor she caught sight of something blue. Interested, she followed a little closer and peeked out to see two lettermen stalking through the isles. One stopped where he was and waited while the other ran ahead, spotted something, and then doubled back to hide behind a stack with his friend. Their faces were blurry but something about the way they were acting made Sakura feel uneasy. Staying on the other side of the racks, she moved up to see what it was that they had been looking at.

Unintentionally she stopped short, spotting the lean form of the red haired greaser from yesterday. Tight blue jeans, a white tee that shoved off his handsome lines, and a pair of chucks made him stand out as the classic greaser even without the pompadour hairstyle. He was in the center of two aisles with a small book in his hands. His eyes were heavy lidded as his lips whispered words to himself.

There was dull thud somewhere behind her and Sakura looked down to see the isles tipping and falling against one another like dominos. Sakura followed the pattern back to the source and saw the two lettermen panting from the effort. At the other end the red haired greaser stood still reading. It didn't look like he had heard anything and Sakura wasn't about to assume he had when she dashed out.

She grabbed onto his forearm and twisted pivoting with the full weight of her body so that she could manage to drag him off his feet and throw him behind her before jumping out of the way herself in time to avoid the falling shelves. It was a dream, so she shouldn't have felt anything, but there was a faint tingle that raced up her arm when a bookend cut her just below the elbow. She lay on the floor, sprawled out alongside the red greaser. His eyes were wide and the book from his hands was nowhere to be seen. He was staring at her and she was staring back at him.

Something clicked in his brain, causing him to blink and stand up. He ran like the devil down the isles after the two lettermen and got close, but stopped short to shout out something across the room. Sakura saw a second figure look up from the shelves, a blond in a similar white tee and tight jeans. The blond took off after the Lettermen, cutting them off before they could reach the door and backing them into a corner. Sakura tried to follow the spectacle with her eyes, but found her line of sight obstructed by a pair of legs. Looking up she saw the red head.

"Are you okay?" he reached down to help her up. He tried cupping his hand under her elbow, but she flinched and pulled away. "You're hurt."

"It's nothing. It doesn't even hurt," she said. It wasn't a lie because it was true that she couldn't feel any pain, but if this had been the real world she was sure she would be a bit more concerned with the ugly bruising that was beginning to color the surrounding wound. Curious, she poked the skin around her cut and flinched when she felt a tingle. It wasn't painful, but it was a sensation.

"You need this looked at. It's starting to bruise." He looked up through his lashes at her and then back down at her wound. "You're very brave for a doll."

"Thanks, that's not something I hear too often. You keep dangerous company, Red."

"I…I'm sorry about that. You shouldn't have been mixed up in any of this. The front desk should have a first aid kit under it. Will you come with me?"

Sakura couldn't help but grin playfully. "I don't know. My mother might have warned me about following dangerous men, and if you're not a dangerous man I don't know what is."

He smiled to himself, lifting just the corner of his mouth. "My name's Sasori."

"I like Red better. Anyone else call you that?"

With a soft laugh he shook his head. "Not really."

"Good, just me then,” she grinned, “Okay, where's that front desk then? You didn't get nicked either, did you?"

Walking with her, Sasori looked his body over before shaking his head. Sakura caught sight of a bulge in the roll of his shirt sleeve, and saw a carton of Kings cigarettes sticking out. He led her to the front desk that was empty. Whoever had been managing it must have gotten up to see to the mess. Sasori pulled a first aid kit out and pulled out disinfectant and bandages. Without another word, he began to clean her wound and bandage up the cut.

"You seem very comfortable applying that," Sakura observed.

"I've had experience."

There were shadows of scars down his arms and on down his collar. Sakura hummed under her breath. "I assumed as much. Dangerous men live dangerous lives."

Sasori laughed out loud this time. "I don't think I got your name, doll. You got mine and a nickname, the trade doesn't feel even."

"Sakura."

"I think I like doll better."

Sakura raised a single brow, "Really. You just stole my line. There's a rule about not using stolen lines on the people you stole them from."

Sasori cleaned up the small mess he had made and replaced the first aid kit. With his back to her, he bent down and slid the metal box back under the counter, "I don't think I've seen you around here before, doll. You new to the square?"

"You saw me yesterday, or did I make so little an impression?"

He chuckled, straightening up and looking back over his shoulder. "I don't make it a habit to look at girls too closely if they're in the arms of another man, and don't think I didn't notice how you avoided my question. I'll guess and say you're new all right, but that's not important. Are you staying long or just passing through?"

Sakura thought back to the obelisk she couldn't seem to find in the town. She wanted to go out looking for it in the sky just like in the Marble Gardens, but there was something about the Neptune Diner and these greasers with clear faces that made her feel like it was in her best interest to stay put.

"That depends…" she began. She watched his face for a reaction as he watched her. It was an odd exchange since they both seemed guarded but interested at the same time. "I don't want to stay any longer than I have to, but I will if that's what it takes." At the end of her explanation she shrugged.

"That doesn't sound interesting at all." His tone was light and sarcastic.

"Sorry to disappoint. Someone forgot to tell me my purpose in life was to entertain." As she expected, he chuckled in response to her teasing. When he laughed the noise was lower, reverberating in her bones.

"Don't worry about that, you're doing a bang up job so far. No need for a recall."

Sasori looked back over her shoulder in the direction his blond friend had run down, but didn't seem too concerned with what happened to the other greaser and the two lettermen. It was when he was busy looking for his friend over her shoulder that Sakura saw something over his shoulder.

Sai stood between two upright shelves with a hand braced on either side, leisurely tracing his fingers down the spines of books on either side of him. He looked up when he felt her gaze on him and then jutted his chin out and turned on his heel, disappearing from view.

"I have to go," Sakura lamely explained, hopping down from the counter and jogging away in her heels.

"Hey, wait!" She felt a breeze behind her as Sasori reached for her, but stumbled. The red head caught himself on the side of the counter. She didn't look back but she could hear him well enough. "Where are you going?"

"To see a friend!" she called back over her shoulder, heading down the aisle after Sai.

Sasori called something else out to her, but she couldn't hear it well enough to know exactly what his words were. Either way, it didn't matter to her. He was a dream, so he wouldn't mind or miss her like a normal human would. Whatever it was he called out to her wasn't important.

She found Sai on the edge of the library leaning over the railing from the balcony and looking down at the outside world. He reached out and touched the glass until it fell away like petals on a dead flower. Inclining his head he reached out his hand.

"Shall we?"

Sakura kept her hands to herself, fisting them at her sides. "I have questions for you."

Sai reached out and grabbed her hand, pulling her out and floating her down. The world rippled around her and then washed back into focus with a snap. Sai made a noise under his breath and held his hand up. "I can't do that for very long."

"I don't care what you did. I'm stuck here again so there's no use in arguing it. How do I get to the next level?"

"Gate- you want to advance to the next _gate_."

Sakura felt like rolling her eyes but resisted the impulse. "You helped me the last time, at least give me a clue. What am I doing here?"

She saw him flinch and look away before covering his emotions up with a fake smile once again. "You can not speak of what I did in the Marble Gardens. What I did was an unforgivable breach of the laws that hold up this world. I can guide you, but I am forbidden from directly altering your outcome."

Sakura huffed sharply, feeling her ire grow beyond her control. The logical side of her mind told her that she shouldn't be upset with Sai for not being able to help and just be thankful for what he was able to do and not push it. But she was annoyed and the logic of the situation was becoming harder to see.

"Then guide me now," Sakura bit out between her teeth. "You can start with explaining why I can't see the faces of some people here, while others are as clear as day."

Sai offered Sakura his arm to take, but when she didn't move he dropped it and began to walk leisurely down the sidewalk, pausing only once to glance back and make sure she was following him. She was, but her steps were measured and guarded. He slowed down his walk until she could draw up even with him. Once she was at his side he pointed off to a couple of faceless individuals.

"Those are people your own mind has generated to fill this kingdom with. The reason you can't see them clearly is because they came from you. On the other hand…" Sai pointed behind him to where a blond boy was running out of an auto mechanic's shop with something in his hand. Sakura recognized him as the boy she met at the gas pump the last time she dreamed. His face was perfectly clear and not distorted by fog in the least. "There are those who exist outside of your own mind. They come from the Obelisk and are referred to as _Actors_."

Sakura nodded, feeling like the explanation made sense. "They're important to the plot of this level of the game."

"That is….one way to think of it as. The boy you were just speaking with is pivotal to this particular kingdom. He will be important in the progression of the narrative. Actors will naturally be drawn to the Appointed and seek him or her out, wherever they may be. It's only natural, their world revolves around you."

Sakura exhaled loudly. "That's not healthy."

"But it's happening." Sai stopped to turn back and stare at Sakura in the eye. "Like it or not, these are the things that are happening. You will come here night after night. You will see things you wish you hadn't, and bear the wounds for it." He nodded at the bandage on her arm.

"Fine, I understand. If there was a way I could get myself out of this commitment I'd take it, but until then I'll deal with this world your way. So tell me what I have to do. What is the objective in this level? How do I leave?"

"Traditionally the Kingdom or Gate is passed through when the Appointed finds the Obelisk. In this particular world, the Obelisk will not appear until specific requirements have been met."

"Let me guess, it has something to do with those bikers and the diner?"

"The men are fighting for the right to call that diner theirs. Aside from the boys you met just now, there are lettermen and rival factions of delinquents. I don't know the details because this kingdom is different every time a new dreamer is appointed, but the basic idea is always the same."

"Then where do I start?"

"You've already started."

The urge to roll her eyes and stamp her foot in frustration grew, but Sakura squashed the desires before such actions could manifest. Talking to Sai was frustrating in more ways than one. Aside from what he spoke of and what actually came out of his mouth, there was something off about him that unsettled her.

"Tell me what to do next, then."

"I can't give you explicit details, but I can show you how to manipulate yourself in this world. One thing that will help you will be the ability to conceal your presence from the actors or alter your appearance."

Sakura glanced over to the side to catch her appearance in the shop window. "I can do that?"

"It's a straightforward process. Simply imagine the change and it will occur. Believe it will happen, and it will."

Sakura turned to face the window more clearly and spread her arms out, fingertips stretched and splayed. She imagined her dress dissolving into something black and studded with gold accents. The change came about so suddenly she thought she missed it at first when she blinked. One moment she was in the dress from before, and in the next she was clothed in a little black number with gold shoulders accented and studs all the way down the sleeves. Then she thought of Sailor Moon's Sailor suit and a second later she was decked out in ass kicking red boots and the altered sailor schoolgirl uniform. Then, she thought back to skinny jeans and a comfortable black tee shirt that was loose enough to breathe in but fitted enough to show off her figure.

"That's all it takes?" Sakura asked with a laugh turning around to see the back of herself in the window. The bandage from when Sasori took care of her was never missing, but Sakura figured that was for the best.

Sai nodded, not showing any other emotion on his face. "Now try concealing yourself."

Sakura looked back to the window and thought about what it would feel like to bend light around her shift from visible to invisible. It was an interesting idea, but it was difficult to conceptualize in comparison to her sailor scout uniform. She had never been invisible before, so while it was easier to imagine, she didn't feel confident in the idea.

"You have to believe in it," Sai said.

"I know that," Sakura almost bit out. Hissing to herself she shook her head and glanced back at Sai. "Sorry. I'll try again."

Not waiting for his reply, Sakura closed her eyes and thought of the world around her without her in it, but still being in it. What did it feel like in high school? She was practically invisible during those years if she wasn't being picked on. It wasn't easy to blend in with the wallpaper, but she had been good at it. She had been very good at it.

When she opened her eyes again she wasn't in the window's reflection anymore, and when she looked down at her hands they shimmered in a near see through manner. Sakura looked to Sai for approval. "Is that it?"

He nodded. "You should put it to use. Trailing those two from before will help you realize the stakes a bit better. They're coming out of the library now."

Sakura turned to see what Sai was talking about and saw nothing. When she turned back to ask him about it she found herself alone. Cursing slightly Sakura turned on her heel and began to round the library building, prepared to walk until she saw something. That was one of the perks with being trapped in a dream world; she never got tired of walking. When awake, it was arguably one of her least favorite things to do.

It took a while, but by the time she doubled back to try circling again she heard the disturbance in the alleyway behind her. It was close to the library, but located across the street, explaining why she hadn't bothered to look in the first place. Sakura saw a shock of honey blond and recognized it as the hair of the companion greaser. On the ground sprawled out across the far wall with a metal trash can at his feet, sat one of the lettermen from the library. The other was slumped over a pile of boxes.

Sasori stood next to his greaser friend with a smoking cig between his fingers. His posture was relaxed and easy, as if the sight of two physically abused teenagers was normal. Considering the bruises on his knuckles, it probably was. Sasori took another long drag of his smoke before exhaling a cloud that made the conscious jock cough.

"I don't suppose you'll be visiting the library anytime soon, but now that I get to thinking about it, I don't want to see your ugly mug at the diner anymore either. In fact, the next time I cast an eyeball at cha’, it might just be the last time, so take that into mind before you go off terrorizing innocent angels like myself and Deidara here."

Sasori moved so fast Sakura almost missed it, but there was no way she missed the reaction of the jock as his body convulsed around the kick to his stomach. It was harsh and violent.

"Heeeey," the blond moved in to pull his friend back before chuckling. "Cool it and leave the cube alone. He got what was coming to him. Man, what's got you so cranked?"

Sasori took another drag before turning away and moving down the alleyway with his hands shoved deep into his pockets. Deidara cast a backwards glance at the two jocks nearly beat to death before turning his back to them and jogging after his friend.

Sakura skipped over the limp bodies and trailed the two greasers through the alleyway and down the street until the sun was only a means for shadow. In the dim light, the end of Sasori's cig made his face glow with every inhale. Deidara pulled a carton of Arrow cigarettes out from a roll in his short sleeves and lit one for himself. His corn husk hair glowed like harm honey around the flame before he flicked his lighter off and exhaled.

"So," Deidara began. "Are you going to talk about it?"

"There's nothing to talk about."

Deidara raised a single brow in question. "Oh, is that so? Your freak out moment had nothing to do with what happened in the library, or the pretty bird you picked up."

Sasori glared across the way at Deidara while the blond just laughed.

"You think I wouldn't notice?"

"It was nothing." Sasori lifted the last bit of his cig and sucked hard before exhaling. "But…what did you think you saw?"

Sakura held her breath, not daring to move lest they heard her. No wonder Sai wanted her to follow them. They were talking about her, and if she was supposed to be an influential character in this level of the dream, she would need to stay in their good graces so that she could keep an eye on them.

Deidara just laughed. "She was a regular classy chassis, but no one I've seen before. We haven't been gone that long have we?"

"She said she was…just passing through. I tried to ask her if she would be around but she left before I could get and answer. I don't think she even heard me." With a huff Sasori flicked the stub of what remained of his smoke onto the ground before crushing it with his heel. "You can wipe that grin off your face now. You know just as much as me, now."

"Not true, you got her name at least, am I right?"

Sasori just growled and looked away. "Of course I got that much, and she knows who I am."

Deidara waved his smoke in the air, making an expecting expression with his eyes. When Sasori didn't say anything for a while the blond groaned. "Oh, come on. You're going to leave me hanging? What's the baby doll's moniker, un?"

Sasori lowered his face letting a few stands of red hair slip free and fall in front of his line of vision. His eyes were half lidded, but it didn't seem as if he was glaring at his friend. "I thought you weren't interested."

"I never said I wasn't."

"Don't be. It'll save you the trouble. You're not her type."

Deidara rolled his eyes and made a _tisk_ sound out of the corner of his mouth. "Oh, so you know her type, do you? Well how do you know she doesn't prefer blonds? You couldn't have had more than ten minutes alone with her. I doubt you got her type out of her."

Sasori shrugged. "You're not any bird's type. Really, you're too much of an obnoxious goof for any decent lady."

In response Deidara flicked his still burning cigarette at the red head. Sasori flicked it away easy enough with the back of his hand, not caring if he almost got burned over something so juvenile. "Jerk," Deidara bit out between his teeth. Sasori just chuckled dark and deep.

Deidara looked away and then back at his red haired friend, annoyance evident in his expression. "Fine, if that's how it's going to be, I'll just ask her myself. How many baby dolls have a face like that around this dive? It won't be hard picking her out on a cruise."

"Lay off it, Deidara. We should tell Pein about the jocks and see what he has to say about it. You can pretend to be desirable later."

"Hey, I'm a catch! Konan said so herself; said there would be a girl lucky to have me." Sakura was surprised Deidara didn't stomp his foot when the red head started to laugh. Deidara's eyes just grew wider with his determination to convince his friend. "Don't give me that sort of face. I'm just as good looking as any of you back at Neptune. If I ever see that bird you better watch out! I got charm."

Sasori just laughed louder, jamming his hands deeper into his pockets and stalking off.


	2. Morning Rovers

"You silly little girl, you think you've survived so long that survival shouldn't hurt anymore.   
You keep trying to turn your body bullet proof. You keep trying to turn your heart bomb-shelter.   
You silly thing.   
You are soft and alive. You bruise and heal. Cherish it.   
It is what you are born to do."   


-Clementine von Radics

* * *

The wound was there when she woke up.

Sakura had thought she was still dreaming, but the pain was reason enough to convince her she was well and truly in the land of the waking. She tried to brush it off and pretend it really wasn't there, but staring at her naked reflection after coming out of the shower, she saw the bruises she never noticed while asleep.

The cut on her arm looked less than fresh with cold clotted blood stuck to her skin in crusty flakes. It wasn't a deep or serious wound, it would probably heal in the next three to seven days, but the ache was still very much there. She felt pain in her arm and across her chest for something that happened to her in a dream while she was asleep.

"You can't keep pretending this isn't happening," she told her reflection.

Aimlessly, she trailed her fingers over the bruises. They were already faded below her skin, like sunken islands in the ocean. It wouldn't take much effort on her part to hide them. It was amazing what fire engine red lipstick could distract the eye from.

There was no work today, but there was a graduation party for one of her 'friends' from school. Ami wasn't really a friend, and the truth was very much the opposite. But Sakura's mother and Ami's mother were chummy, and if Ami's mother was anything like Sakura's, that was reason enough to pity the poor girl and forgive the harassment from middle school.

While Ami was Sakura's age, due to an accident her boyfriend got her into during her sophomore year, Ami graduated a year later then everyone else in her age group.

While Sakura was having a tough time in high school thanks to female girl gang bangers like Karin, Ami was fighting for her life one breath at a time in a white gown in a white room in a white building in the middle of the city. They had both endured hardships of a different sort, and that helped Sakura forgive.

Sakura checked her phone and saw a text from her mother. Opening it, she wasn't surprised to see what it was about.

[Are you going to the graduation party for Amelia's daughter?]

Ami wasn't even worth mentioning by name. Sakura read too much into it and began the depressing cycle of psychoanalyzing everything that came out of her mother. She didn't care if Sakura went to Ami's party; she cared if her daughter went to the party at Amelia's.

Opening up the keyboard on her phone, Sakura began to type out her response, knowing her mother wouldn't reply unless Sakura decided to fight her mother on it. Sakura didn't want that fight.

[I am going to Ami's party with Karin.]

Knowing there would be no other response, Sakura clicked her phone off and dried off before dressing in something comfy. A lot of her things were still packed away so she pulled out as much as she could, chose a cute dress, ironed and dressed her hair.

Not feeling up to wearing the dress, Sakura shot off a photo to Karin to ask for an opinion. Karin didn't waste words and was always blunt with her opinions, especially when it came to fashion and Sakura. Sometimes it could be annoying when Karin wouldn't stop giving unsolicited advice, but she respected Sakura whenever Sakura told the red head, 'I'll wear whatever the hell I want.'

A minute later Karin shot down Sakura's hopes with a predictable answer. Sakura pulled out another dress and once again Karin disagreed with the selection. Nothing was wrong with it, but it was overused for a party at Ami's. Sakura texted Karin back with a slanted [Do I have to wear a dress?] and a frowning face.

Karin's reply was quick. [Come over, I have something for you.] [And bring your red heels]

Deciding to do nothing else but make lunch for herself, Sakura dressed in a ratty pair of denim shorts and an olive colored band tee that was so old it couldn't shrink if it tried. It wasn't glamorous, but it was comfortable, and the sleeves came down low enough to just barely hide the cut.

The cut was something Karin would have to see, so sticking an extra bandaid over it sounded like a safe idea.

Bringing a few things with her, Sakura locked up the house behind her and drove off to meet Karin at the apartment she lived in with her parents. It was located right above the pizza parlor, so there was always a nice smell around and plenty of hustle and bustle with customers coming in and out at all hours of the day.

Karin met her on the stairs behind the counter.

"I thought I heard pops making a noise about someone. You took your good old sweet time in getting here."

Sakura shrugged, stomping up the stairs so Karin would know she was being followed. "Funny thing about cars, every so often they run out of gas and need to be refueled, and my station wagon likes to run out of gas."

"Why the heck do you still have that thing?"

"Because it's a family car and its curse protected to never break down so long as I love it." Sakura dramatically brushed a heavy curl over her shoulder and sighed wistfully while batting her eyelashes. "It's magic."

Karin snorted. "What do you feel in the mood for? I know your usual style, but this is Ami's gig we’re crashing."

Sakura followed Karin into her room and plopped down onto the awaiting bed. She thought back to the dresses from the dream world and how easy it had been to flip through them without a care or concern. Before she knew it, her mind drifted to red….red hair, red tips on the ends of a cigarette.

Sakura sucked in a breath and turned to face Karin who was pulling out something that sparkled. It was gold, formless, Twiggy styled, reminding Sakura of the 1960's when people thought the future would be better than the present with flying cars and personal robot maids. She almost expected Karin to pull out a pair of white go-go boots.

"Really, that's the best you could do?"

"You think anyone else is going to look like this? Try it on. It will go perfect with your gold chunky heels."

Rolling her eyes Sakura complied, not bothering to leave while Karin turned back to her closet to pick out her Twiggy knock off dress. When she turned around, Sakura was zipping up the back but wasn't fast enough.

"What are those bruises from, and what happened to your arm?"

"A stupid shelf of books for the bruises and a book end for the cut. It's nothing to worry about."

Karin was dressed in a rectangle shaped pea green dress with matching tights and heels. Disco ball earrings swung from her lobes when she shook her head. "Really?" she asked, her voice skeptical.

Sakura leveled a bored stare at her friend. "No, I was beaten by my abusive Brazilian lover and I don't want you to find out. Help me with my makeup."

"You're so clumsy. I should just move in with you- at least part time. Your mother would never know, she doesn't even check up on you, does she?"

Sakura didn't say anything, and in response Karin didn't push Sakura to explain where the bookshelf came from, since her grandmother didn't own any.

After another two to three hours of pampering and dressing up that was interrupted by youtube serving and tumblr blogging, the two girls took their selfies and rolled out for the upper east side where Ami would be partying it hard. Karin's parents had put together a gift to give to Ami, and Sakura just wrote a check from her mother, forging her signature with practiced skill.

"Makes me sick giving her something so pretty. She won't even enjoy it," Karin bitched, stomping up the steps to the party girl's house. "I should just keep it and say nothing. It's not like she will miss it."

Sakura sighed, being the bigger person and reaching over to ring the doorbell without remark. Karin curled her lip. "I'm surprised. She was a witch to you."

A shadow came into focus on the other side of the door through the centered glass paneling. Sakura shot her friend a willy grin. "Kind of like how you were?"

Karin's face went white and she turned away quickly as Ami answered the door personally. She was dressed in a cream embroidered strapless number that barely reached her knees. A chunky necklace with flashy stones caught the eyes and matched her earrings. With naturally dark features and olive skin it made her seem softer and more feminine then Sakura remembered her.

Ami looked nice.

"You came! Thanks for showing up," the dark haired girl greeted, opening the door wider. She smiled at the pair and it was a softer sort of smile. Sakura stepped over the threshold and waited as the door closed before saying anything.

Ami surprised her though by moving in to hug the green eyed girl. Sakura felt herself being squeezed before Ami moved to do the same to Karin, either not knowing or not caring about how touching was a huge trust barrier for the red head. Unless Karin trusted you, she didn't like being held, hugged, or touched. When Ami stepped back she was still smiling.

"I'm really glad you came. Thanks."

Karin mumbled something under her breath as she nodded. She then remembered the bag in her hands and thrust it forward.

Sakura turned over her card as well. "Congratulations on graduating. How's the party?"

Ami waved them in and they followed her through the house to the backyard where pastel streamers and tea tables were set up on an immaculately manicured lawn. It didn't take to notice the lack of youth on the lawn. There were plenty of parents and adults, many relatives and a few little kids running around, but the only teenagers/young adults were a couple making out under the gazebo and a shaggy haired boy on his DS. Sakura didn't recognize any of them.

"It's still early," Karin offered with a shrug.

"According to the invitations it ends in an hour and a half," Ami said. She deflated a bit, bending forward and clutching her opposite elbows. "But it's all good. Mom's friends can stay as long as they want. Some of my classmates were here earlier, too, but they had to bounce."

Karin shifted the weight from one leg to the other, biting her lip and looking around. "How about a tour then?"

With a smile, Ami consented and took them on a tour of the oversized mansion that had more rooms than anyone knew what to do with. Somehow they ended up in the theater room watching the old reels from when Ami was a tiny two year old and the camcorder was still hot stuff. Halfway into a reel, the doorbell rang and Ami got up to answer it. Feeling weird, Sakura and Karin followed the party girl. Sakura noticed how Ami's face lit up just before pulling back the door. The way her face fell was the way glass falls. It was just another of her mother's friends she had to force a smile on for and direct to the back. When Karin and Sakura joined Ami at the end of the staircase the dark haired girl looked like she was struggling to stay smiling.

"Ah, I guess it was a busy day for most people?" Ami offered with a shrug of her shoulders.

All Sakura could see were shards. Digging into her pockets she pulled out her keys and tugged on Ami's arm. "Fine, then, but you're all dressed up and you deserve to show off to the rest of the world a little. We're kidnapping you."

"We are?" Karin hissed.

"Where?" Ami asked at the same moment.

"I want burgers. There's a dive in the next neighborhood we can curl up at."

Without another word Sakura led her small group out to her station wagon and pulled up a map on her phone to take her to the nearest dive burger joint. By the time they reached the dive Ami's eyes were good and dry. Karin took Ami to a booth in the back and Sakura ordered burgers, fries and milkshakes for all of them. Sakura didn't expect Ami to touch the fatty foods, but was pleasantly surprised to see the smaller girl inhale what was put in front of her.

"Thanks," Ami said around a mouthful.

Sakura waved it off. "It's all cheap food."

Ami swallowed. "No, not for that, I mean, for that too, but….for the other thing. I didn't think it would be that bad. No one RSVPed but…teenagers never do, you know."

"Forget about it. Girl talk now, how's your love life looking?" Karin asked.

Ami squeaked and turned red in the face. "What?"

Sakura laughed.

* * *

When Sakura opened her eyes again, she was seated on the edge of a powder white Cadillac hood. She was wearing navy, high waisted sailor shorts with snappy gold buttons trailing up the front. A fitted red and white striped tee was tucked into her shorts, matching the cherry red pumps that swung off the edge of the car.

Lifting up the end of one of her sleeves, Sakura looked for the scar on her arm and found only a light red line. There were no bruises though. That was more than she could say in the waking world.

Turning to look over her shoulder she saw that she was in an auto repair shop. Off to the side were a pair of old cars on jacks being worked on by mechanics. One of the mechanics came out from behind a car wiping his hands clean with a dirty rag. He was making a bee line for her and the car.

"Hey, what are you doing on top of my car?"

Sakura couldn't help but raise a single brow. "This is your car?"

Naruto shrugged before smiling even brighter. His eyes were fragments of the sky in the middle of July on a clear day. "I'm the one who worked on it."

Not wanting to dent it or anything, Sakura held out her hand for Naruto to grab as she hopped off. "Sorry, I don't think it's any worse for the wear."

Naruto laughed, rubbing the back of his head. "Nah, you're too light to make a mark or anything."

He was blushing too hard to be subtle. But it was typical of the time, wasn't it? Girls were light angelic things that were born out of sugar and everything nice. When Sakura was feeling vain, she would be the first to admit that she kept herself 'nice' for the mirror.

Sakura watched Naruto's nervous chuckles. He had a face that was clear as day with details and freckles and messy eyebrows tainted with grease. He wasn't a creature entirely of her imagination if what Sai said was true. He was a part of this curse, more than the others or even the location and setting.

Deciding she didn't like the grease stain in his eyebrows Sakura frowned and licked her thumb. "Don't move and close your eyes."

Naruto did as he was told without question, squeezing his eyes shut. Sakura rubbed the grease out of his eyebrow, licking her forefinger when her thumb became too dirtied to get the rest out. When she was done she pulled away and waited for him to open his eyes on his own.

"Better?"

"Yup." Sakura rubbed her dirty fingers together till they were less dirty. "Do you get a break anytime soon, or a lunch hour?"

"I-I can take one, why?"

Sakura pointed outside the garage across the street and up a ways. "The Neptune Diner looks good and I haven't been there before. You paid for that coke that one time, so think of it as a thank you if I treat you." She let her hand fall and brush the new bulge in her pocket, made up of bills she knew well enough.

"But Kakashi was the one who…"

"I know you were the one who paid for it though." Sakura didn't know how she knew, but she did, somehow. "Don't think too much about it and pretend you're doing me a favor, I don't want to go in there by myself and look pathetic."

There was a pause and Sakura wondered if Naruto would ever say anything again before he held up a finger and ran off to the back of the shop. She heard voices and then the loud, deep laughter of older men. A few came out from behind their cars to look at Sakura and then laugh at Naruto before slapping him away. Naruto was red in the face, but he was beaming.

"I have an hour," he said.

Sakura offered him her arm and he took it right away, but then pulled back when he remembered the dirty things he was wearing. He apologized loudly and blushed louder, but Sakura just laughed, being content to walk side by side with him, though Naruto seemed disappointed on some level.

The Neptune Diner was larger than what it looked like from the road. The interior was, to no surprise, under the sea themed with fishing nets hanging from the roof and starfish stuck to the silver napkin dispensers. There was a long bar and plenty of booths colored silver and blue and standing out as being fresh and new. The interior was great and everything, but Sakura's attention instantly flew to the sheer number of faces she saw inside the diner.

There were a handful of people scattered around at booths and on barstools, but most of them had faces she could make out. Few were blurry at all. At the head of the bar a woman with artfully piled hair atop her head smiled at the newcomers before picking up two menus.

Sakura and Naruto sat at the bar down from the door when she came to greet them. She was dressed like a waitress, but she seemed to move too easily across the floor to just be a waitress. She owned the diner. If it belonged to anyone it had to be her; It was her castle.

"What can I get for you today?" she asked, turning the menus over to them. "Or do you still need a minute?"

Sakura's eyes fell to the fluffy golden french toast with powdered sugar and maple cinnamon butter. It wasn't time for breakfast, but it looked too good to resist.

"Are you still making this?" Sakura asked, pointing to the laminated picture.

"We can make that," the blue haired lady nodded.  _ Konan, _ read her name tag.

Naruto leaned over to have a look at her order. "Eh, Sakura, you really want that for lunch? What did you have for breakfast?"

"I didn't?"

Naruto's eyes went wide for a moment. "Really, I think I would have died if I didn't eat every morning. Hey, Konan, can I have the same thing too, please, and a milk."

Konan didn't bother writing anything down but nodded before looking to Sakura. "What about you, sugar? What do you want to drink?"

"Just water would be great. Thank you."

With a nod the dark haired woman disappeared only to return a minute later with their drinks. Sakura smiled up at her before reaching for her water and pretending it didn't freak her out that there were so many faces in this cafe she could look at. She had undervalued the experience of looking at people's faces. Once that luxury was taken from her she began to treasure it. Looking at fog faces for too long drove her mad.

There was a man with long dark hair and another with shorter dark hair, slicked back on the sides and swept to the side. Next to them was another male with hair so blond it looked white, slicked back to lay flat against his skull. His eyes were a gray lavender that never stopped roaming the walls. Sakura thought he looked towards her but averted her eyes in time to avoid the awkward stare.

And then there was Sai, sitting by himself in a booth in the back drinking coffee and reading a magazine. He looked up and caught her eye and Sakura didn't look away this time.

"Thanks for this, Sakura," Naruto said, interrupting her eye's focus. She turned to look at him and he smiled wider.

"Isn't that my line? I've never been here before, so of course I would feel weird on my own." Not that she wouldn't feel weird in general, but Naruto's presence helped. Even though he was a dream, he was a calming person to be around. "Have you lived here long, Naruto? You seem so comfortable here."

"My whole life pretty much. I know most of the people too. That's how I'm able to bounce around to so many jobs in the area. It's helpful when you're friends with everyone."

Sakura felt playful the way a person feels sunshine on their face. It came from outside of herself and soaked deep into her pores, widening the smile on her face. "Everyone?"

Naruto nodded his chin at the table in the back with the three greasers. "Those are the Morning Rovers. This is their turf, but they moved out for a couple of months and all sorts of blocks moved in. They're back now, sorry to say, but I work on their cars all the time. I don't like the sort, but they pay well and don't mind me much and give me no bother."

"They left? What for? That's an awfully long time to be away for something."

Naruto just shrugged "Their leader didn't come back though. His name is Nagato and he's the sweetheart of Konan, the angel who took our orders. His brother Pein is trying his hand at the family business it seems. Look now, he's coming out from the back."

Sakura tried to be subtle about it, since Naruto wasn't looking anymore, but she wouldn't be surprised to hear that it looked like she stared. Pein was tall in stature and solid all the way through. His jeans were dark black and his tee was just as black. And while it was most likely the summer was beautiful enough outside to not need it, Pein sported a fitted leather jacket also in black. His hair was a burnt shade of titian that was combed Executive Contour style with a single strand or two falling neatly out of place to dangle in front of his eyes. Feeling her stare, he turned in her direction and Sakura saw that his eyes were fiercely storm colored and narrowed. God, or maybe the devil had gathered up a world's worth of thunderheads and stratus folds to compile into two glassy orbs that could cut the world apart with a look.

Naruto caught the edge in Sakura's posture when she looked away. Not wanting to be too forward and touch her, he scooted in a little closer and leaned his head down so that he could look up at her face. "You okay? First time scares most people too."

"He's…intimidating," she managed to say, not being able to spend much more time thinking for the perfect word, if there was one, to replace  _ intimidating _ with, "And he's the leader?"

"For now. He's the shoe in, but he ain't his brother. He doesn't have the moral of his men like Nagato does, but they will follow him all the same."

"Is that a good thing? You don't sound worried."

"Ah, well there are always disputes over lands and turf and stuff, so that's nothing to get nervous about. I don't see any of those jocks hanging out anymore." Naruto looked to the counter, lowering his eyes. "It's like Kakashi said, they're rowdy and rude. Try not to get mixed up with them."

Sakura thought back to the incident in the library with Sasori and the Lettermen. It seems those boys got the message. That meant Sasori worked for the man with storms in his eyes. She hadn't realized she had sighed out loud.

"You okay?" Naruto asked.

Sakura forced a smile. "I told you I was looking for something, didn't I? I wish it wouldn't take me this long, but it seems as if I might have to cross paths with some of them. I met the…Sasori in the library the other day when two jocks tried dumping bookshelves on his head."

Naruto's eyes widened in recognition, "I heard about that. They were all pretty put out by that. I heard about it from the old man at the shop. I think one of them got hurt."

Konan came back with their orders just as Sakura parted her lips to laugh. "No, I think that's an exaggeration. Ah, food!"

She was cutting into her toast and hadn't noticed Konan's lack of departure, but Naruto had. Hesitantly, he coughed then thanked her, cuing Sakura to look up with wide eyes. The woman in front of her wasn't their server from before. She was the same blue haired woman, but also…wasn't. There was something different in the way she held herself.

"Were you the one who Sasori said got hurt at the library?" she asked, ignoring Naruto.

Sakura swallowed the first bite of her food. "Hurt is a bit of an exaggeration, I think. Did he say anything about me?"

Konan smiled slyly and Sakura didn't think she liked that smile. "A bit. Food's on the house, bird. Don't worry about it." She glanced sideways at Naruto and then chuckled before walking away.

Naruto reached his hand in front of her to grab the syrup and Sakura made a sound that he laughed at, jokingly pretending to pour the contents of the bottle over her food before pulling away. She didn't bother turning around to see if Sai was watching her like she thought he was.

They didn't talk much more after that because they were eating, but Naruto was good about filling in the silences with quips about his life and the town. He was an orphan, living with his grandfather who wasn't even technically his grandfather while he worked through high school. He didn't like school, and got in trouble a lot, but he was a good worker and liked to do things with his hands.

Sakura told him she was going into medicine. She had originally wanted to be a doctor, but because college costs were so extravagant even with scholarships, she had her sights set on a pharmaceutical degree. She had never been good with her hands. She broke things too easily.

With their meals done Naruto pushed his plate off to the side and made a dissatisfied sound deep in his throat before letting his face fall atop the counter.

"Something wrong?" she asked.

"My lunch hour is almost over. They're going to want me back soon." He turned his face to eye her, but something outside the window caught his attention.

Sakura turned to look as well, and saw Sasori and the blond from yesterday- Deidara- walking towards the cafe from a hotrod parked on the side of the street. Sakura looked back to Naruto before the redhead met her stare.

"Um, I was going to say you should stop by again, either the shop or the pump, and next time I'll bring my friends along to introduce you. It'll make it easier to be here if you know a few more faces."

"I'd like that," Sakura answered, but kept herself from saying anything else when she felt the presence coming up behind her.

"Sakura." She turned at the sound of her name and saw Sasori looking a little different from yesterday.

There was what looked like a cut under his left eye, but it was thin and shallow. It could have been a paper cut for how dangerous it looked, but Sakura very much doubted that with his knuckles being as bruised as they were.

He turned to look from her to Naruto, and nodded. "Uzumaki," he intoned.

Naruto gulped and nodded. "Sasori."

Sakura thought he would shrink under the intensity of Sasori's gaze, but to his credit, the golden haired boy straightened up in his seat and met those cinnamon red eyes with his own azure orbs. Sasori could probably beat him into a pulp, Sakura had seen him do as much with those jocks, but Naruto didn't seem like the type to be intimidated.

Sakura reached out to touch Naruto's hand, breaking the ice and fire contest between two sets of eyes. With his attention returned to her, Sakura smiled and spoke, "Next time, make sure to introduce me to your friends, I would like that."

Naruto nodded, his smile coming back easily. "Sure thing Sakura. I'll see you around." And with that he got up and left, giving Sasori a wide berth on the way out.

Sasori took the opposite seat next to Sakura and nodded to her shoulder. "How is the cut? It's not bandaged anymore."

"Well hello to you too, Red." Sakura rolled up her shirt sleeve to show off the pale red line that rose above the rest of her pink flesh. It was well on its way to healing, more so than it should have been, by the look on Sasori's face. Sakura laughed.

"Don't look too surprised. I told you it was nothing. You worried over nothing."

Sakura didn't miss the faint smirk that softened into a smile as he pulled out his carton of Arrow cigarettes. With a single stick between his lips he went on. "Don't mind me if I think it's important a girl keeps herself from scars. It's one thing if I turn ugly, but it's another matter entirely if you're permanently damaged, dollface."

Sakura felt a spark of antagonism flare up. "Yes, because girls are only here to look pretty. Shame if one of them loses value."

Sasori was reaching for a lighter inside his pocket, but paused at her words. "I was going to say it's because you're far prettier than I am, and I hate to see great works of art damaged. It's so rare one runs across perfection these days."

She chose to ignore his remark about perfection. "Oh? And you know a great deal about art?"

This time, instead of a lighter, he pulled out his wallet and then flashed a photograph of a young married couple in front of a larger than average white faced house. "That's my dad. He was part of the Monuments, Fine Arts, and Archives program during the war. His job was to go finding and saving pieces of art and other culturally important items before their destruction by Hitler." Something was different with his voice when he spoke. Lighter, braver, happier. "He would kill me if he thought I grew up without a proper education in the arts. Math and English be damned, I need to know Rembrandt and Monet. So when you ask if I know a great deal about art, the answer is yes."

"Dangerous and classy, you're just full of surprises, Red."

Sasori nodded at her scarred arm. "And you're not?"

"I didn't say that." Sakura pushed her empty plate away till it bumped into Naruto's. "But that doesn't mean anything just yet."

Sasori shifted in his seat, lighting up and breathing smoke. "I hope I…didn't interrupt anything earlier. I didn't know you were seeing someone. I remember you saying you were new…just passing through."

"No, that's right. I'm not courting anyone if that's what you are talking about." Sakura picked up her plate and laid it atop Naruto's before reaching into her pocket to pull out a few bills. The prices were terribly low compared to what she was used to. Konan had told her lunch was on the house, but Sakura didn't like the feeling of accepting unpaid food, especially when she had as much money as she could want without end.

The greasers at the booth in the back were all getting up and heading for the door. Each said something to Konan on the way out and she in turn bit out something rude to all of them except the man with storms for eyes. A cluster paused right by the door, hesitating before leaving, when the blond broke off to grab Sasori's shoulder and shake him. Deidara opened his mouth to say something mean to his friend, but closed it promptly when he saw the girl sitting next to him.

"Deidara," Sasori hissed, his voice dangerously low. "Buzz off."

Deidara shook himself out of his stupor to glare at his friend. "We're rolling out. Leader wants you in the pack tonight, duh." The blond then shoved Sasori harshly and stepped in front of him before extending his hand for her to take. "The name's Deidara, bird. I know who you are, but they didn't warn me how much of a beauty you'd be. Sasori always has a boring eye for art. I thought he had been exaggerating."

Sakura took his hand and pretended to shake it like this was their first meeting. "And I'm Sakura. I recognize you, you were at the library."

"That would be me, saving the day."

Sakura thought she heard a little bit of an accent hidden in between his words. The way he shaped his words spoke of old English worlds and broken cobblestones and newsboy hats. It was faint, only a hint of it, but Sakura picked up on it all the same.

"Are you done?" Sasori hissed, reaching out and pulling on the blond's tee shirt until Deidara had to stagger backwards onto his feet. "You said they needed us."

"I said they wanted  _ you _ ," Sasori did not miss the emphasis his friend put on the single word. Deidara flashed Sakura a grin, "I never said they wanted  _ me _ . How would you feel about a night out on the town, birdy?"

This time Sasori yanked so hard Deidara really did topple over, crashing to one knee with a panicked yelp. Deidara glared up at his friend before smiling his frustrations away and standing closer to Sakura than before.

"So, about that offer…you have any plans yourself?"

Sakura opened her mouth to say she did when Sasori reached out to grab her wrist and shove Deidara back with his free arm. "She's coming with me, buzz off bird brain."

He was stronger than she anticipated, and much harder to resist when he pulled her closer and settled her against his side with one arm pinning her in, warm and firm. She could smell his sandalwood scent and blushed when he pressed her closer to his chest. He wasn't much taller than she was in heels, so her head rested level with his neck. The men gathered at the door began to file out once they saw Sasori coming and Deidara was quick to chase after them.

Sakura wanted to say that she had never agreed to anything, but then she saw Sai in the back raise his cup and smile in her direction before drinking his coffee. If she wanted to progress in the dream, she would have to stay with these people who held faces. She would have to figure out a way to progress the story.

Outside, Sasori led her to the edge of the street where their cars were pulled into the skinny parking spaces. There were three of them; the first being a 1949 Mercury with black and red flames licking up the front, the second a Early '50s Buick mild custom decked out in a similar flame job. The last was a cherry red hotrod with partially exposed engines and flaming exhaust pipes. Sakura wasn't surprised when Sasori tugged her towards the hot rod and stopped at the passenger door for her. With his hand on the handle he paused and turned back to look at her.

"You…don't mind coming with me, do you?" he asked hesitantly, likely coming to the realization that he had forgotten to ask for her consent.

"I don't know, will it be dangerous?"

If he wanted to lie, his conviction for honesty won out. "Most likely."

Sakura thought of Sai and his coffee cup raised in the air, metaphorically christening her voyage. "Good thing I don't mind danger. Get the door."

Smiling to himself, the redhead complied and moved out of the way to let her slide in before rounding the car and climbing into the driver's seat. It was a cozy fit and low to the ground, making Sakura feel closer to the red head than ever before. It was a bench seat in the front that let her slide as close or far from his side as she wished, though the same went for him.

_ It feels like they designed it for convenient make-out sessions _ .

Blushing at the thought she banished from her mind, Sakura ran her hands over the seat looking for the cradle to her seat belt. Finding it, she strapped herself in and nodded to Sasori who had been watching her.

"We're not taking anyone else?" she asked.

Sasori shook his head. "Too small. Deidara can ride with Itachi or Pein. His ride is still on bricks from last time."

"Last time?" Sakura felt her left eyebrow raise in question. There was a story there, behind those words.

"If he could…" Sasori said, watching Deidara follow Itachi towards the Mercury. "I think Deidara would gladly set the world on fire and stand in the midst of it. There's just a bit too much crazy in that kid to be healthy."

"Must fit in just fine then." Sakura eased into the smooth plastic of the upholstery under her. It was stiff, but it wasn't uncomfortable. Being as firm as it was it made her feel safe as the rest of the car roared and shook under the force of the awakening engine.

"Oh," she breathed aloud before she realized she had broken her silence. Sasori smiled out of the corner of his mouth, pride working into the edges of his features. He rolled down the windows and pulled out behind the other two cars, not caring how the wind ravaged his hair.

Through the open window, she could smell the earth around them and managed to catch a glimpse of the pale greenhouse that led to the Marble Gardens, before it was nothing more than a speck in the distance. They had passed the pumps and were heading out of town fast. In their wake, leaves, dust, and street debris danced upwards.

"Where are we going?" Sakura asked, turning away from the window.

"Out on the town. We've been out for a while, so we're going to take a look see, and see what we need to do to remind the other punks whose territory this is," He shifted in his seat, "I told you it would be dangerous."

"You did." Sakura's eyes went to his knuckles, broken open and split over the bone to bleed prettily like roses on his fists. She knew if she could run her finger over those openings she would feel them as true as if they were from the waking world. It was becoming harder to remember she was still only dreaming.

She blinked and the sun sunk all the way down to the edge of the horizon. Dusk rolled in like a cloud, unraveling over each of them. It took only a second, but half the day was gone.

The Buick pulled off the road and Sakura watched as they followed it to a pull off that was situated next to a long, lonely stretch of uninterrupted road.

"Suicide drive looks empty tonight."

Sakura looked over at the red head and narrowed her eyes. "Drag races, right?

She heard him chuckle. "Pretty and smart."

They weren't alone. Further down were a cluster of cars haphazardly parked, some of them had teens on their hoods, others were mere cover for the couples that hid behind them. Sakura drank up the sight of wide skirts and ripped jeans and the tobacco smell that boys wore like perfume.

Pein was up and entering the cluster first, and an even half of the kids froze in what they were doing to stare, the others didn't care or waved encouragingly to him. One held out a half finished bottle of something dark and heavy smelling. The two dark haired boys and the silver kid with hair slicked back tight were close behind in following Pein down, but Deidara dallied, waiting for Sasori and Sakura.

Sakura watched as Pein took the bottle of booze and dangled it between his fingers, still walking between and among the kids. He passed close to a boy who had his legs out and when the boy didn't move them for Pein to pass, Pein smashed the bottle over the kids head. Glass and alcohol shattered in a show of fury as the boy crumpled in fear and blood. Pein hadn't bashed it over the kids head, but he had come close, smashing it against the metal of the car door right above. The cuts that bled were all clustered around the crown of his head where glass stuck out.

Pein leaned down and his figure was a skeleton in black, his eyes dark and hooded like the devil's. Sakura felt her heart skip in her chest even though she wasn't in any danger while beside Sasori. He wasn't even angry at anyone in her direction, but Sakura could feel the righteous indignation rolling heavier than smoke. She held her breath as the grey eyed adult leaned in far enough to whisper something into the boy's ear before pulling back and kicking the kid in the gut. The boy doubled over in pain, tears and blood falling from his face, and Pein walked away.

The rest of his gang followed behind him, not batting an eye at the brutality. The one with silver slicked back hair kicked dust at the boy's bleeding face and laughed before moving on. No one ignored Pein after that, and everyone parted for his group.

A faceless individual stood up to Pein, flanked by two taller giants. He jutted his chin out at the group and Pein stopped. His hands hovered at his sides and Sakura didn't doubt that the boy with storms in his eyes had something sharp waiting to draw blood. This time he didn't lash out though.

The rest of the group leaned in, whatever this kid had to say, it carried weight. All three of the opposing individuals wore matching black leather jackets, similar to the ones the two black haired boys behind Pein wore. Just like the ones behind Pein had 'Morning Rovers' stitched into the dark leather, Sakura had no doubt the others had names stitched into theirs. The stand off reminded her of the Beat It music video for Michael Jackson back in the 80's.

"Why don't you wear a nameplate on your back?" Sakura asked, leaning in to Sasori.

"Never needed to." He frowned. "Don't want to either."

Shaking his head and pushing the loose bangs back into the pompadour style he tried to keep, he reached out for her hand and tugged her over towards the side. He led her out of sight towards a cluster of cars parked back up against the trees and then lifted her up onto the hood of one before following her up. A boy in glasses turned to glare at them but Sasori just glared back, harder and colder. The boy shrunk in stature before turning around and minding his own business.

"What are they going to do?" Sakura asked, pointing towards Pein and the new kid.

Sasori shrugged, pulling out a white roll to tuck between his lips. "Have words?" He lit up and Sakura turned to watch the smoke curl past his teeth like dragon's breath. "This used to be our turf so you can imagine we'd want it back. It might take a while."

_ Is that game over for me _ ? Sakura thought to herself. Was that the point of this level in the dream world, to reestablish the Morning Rover's dominance over this town turf?

Then there were fists in the air, and Pein tumbled with the shorter boy. Both sets of bodyguards moved back to let the two toss it out on the ground. Soon there was a ring of bodies surrounding them, chanting and cheering. Sasori stood on the hood to get a better look at the fight. Sakura didn't join him.

Sai was on the edge of the ring, staring into her, freezing her in place.

' _ Is this what you want _ ?' he seemed to ask. She didn't know how to respond.

Beside her Sasori was cheering and shouting, but not as loud as Deidara, the blond was a banshee, wild and wailing as the blood dropped and skin split. It all felt too familiar.

"I want to go home. I want to wake up," she said in a quiet voice. "I don't want to see this."

No one heard her but Sai knew. Slowly he shook his head from one side to the other.  _ Not yet, not now _ .

Anger welled up inside of her. _You don't understand. You don't get it, what this is doing to me, what this is triggering for me. I need to go!_

The kid went down and didn't get up.  _ Rockslide  _ was clearly legible across his leather clad back. Pein was panting hard, his cheeks split and his fists bruised and stained. With his victory, a spell lifted and the two body guards ran forward, only to be met by Pein's retainers. More boys leapt from the ring and the silver haired boy charged ahead. Hidan, someone called him. Deidara was in the fray as well, and soon the fighting swelled outwards. 

Sasori crouched down, and Sakura thought he was going to launch himself, but instead he pulled her back across the hood to the opposite side so that heavy American steel separated her from the chaos.

"Keep out of sight," he whispered into her ear. His hands ghosted over her sides before pulling her into a hug that squeezed her tight, "And don't take your eyes off of me. I want you to see how dangerous I can be," He pulled away and searched her face. She knew he didn't see fear, because that's not what she let herself feel, but he might have mistaken her shivering for such, "Don't worry, I'll protect you."

"I'm not worried," she managed to get past her lips, closing her eyes so that he wouldn't be able to see her lies settling there, "Don't take too long."

He kissed her crown, right where her hairline began, reminding her how he was still taller than her. She felt the laugh on his lips as they pressed against her skin. "Sure thing, doll face."

She turned and watched him leap over the car top and saw his red hair flare in the wind. She thought of Karin with her split lips and bloody knuckles and tasted the blood in her nose dripping backwards down her throat. She slammed hard against the memory and ran.

She wasn't afraid, but she didn't like living in the memories. She didn't like confronting those demons when she already laid them low time and time again. But that's the thing about facing your demons; You don't face them and move on. Demons, at least some of them, will live inside of you forever. You face your demons, you face them, and then you face them, and face them again, and again, and again.

Sakura found the road and stopped beside Sasori's car. There were more coming. Sleek and black, a new car pulled in and four boys piled out. The first three were not worth noticing, but the fourth had a face she could see. His hair was wiry, a dull brown, and slicked back from his face. Though it was night, he wore a pair of circular framed glasses to hide his eyes. The edges of his coat were turned up, shielding the bottom part of his face from view. She didn't know if he saw her, but his face was partly turned towards her, taking her in the same way she took him in. One of his men noticed and made his way over to her while the rest started moving towards the fray.

"Heeeey," he drawled, and something in Sakura's stomach sank, "What's a pretty thing like you doing out here?"

The boy in glasses sighed in mild annoyance, turning his face away, not bothering to watch and see what happened next.

"Leave me alone," Sakura hissed, wishing she could concentrate enough to bend the darkness around her and disappear.

"Don't be like that, sweet thing, tell me your name."

Sakura felt more animal than human as he advanced, cornering her against the side of Sasori's car. "You touch me and I swear to God you'll regret it," she seethed. She prayed he would be smart and leave. 

He wasn't.

His hand curled around her wrist and before he could pull away, Sakura slammed her fist into his face. She couldn't fight, per say, and she wasn't much to be reckoned with in the waking world, but this was her dream, and everything in it would bend to her if it was the last thing she did.

He sunk into the dirt with a fractured jaw and knocked out eyes. His hand on her wrist went limp.

She heard someone whistle low and when she looked up she saw the boy with the glasses watching her. One of the boys beside him made a move towards her, but was stopped by an outstretched hand. _Glasses_ was looking off to the side and the ghost of a smile peeped out from behind the folds of his coat collar. Sakura followed his line of sight to see Pein standing with his knuckles dripping blood. The storms in his eyes were fierce and crackling. 

Not wanting to mess with that, the boys slid backwards, down towards the mosh pit where fists were flying and cheers were loud.

"I was going to ask if you were okay," Pein said, shocking Sakura out of her stupor. The male was walking towards her and stopped right in front of the punched out male. He poked the boy with his toe and smiled when there was no response, "But it looks like you can handle yourself well enough. One punch and lights out. I don't know many angels that can do that."

Sakura spread out her fingers and rubbed her throbbing knuckles, wondering if they would be bruised when she woke up. "I can take care of myself well enough. I'm not worried."

"Then why are you shaking?"

Sakura laughed, stepping over the felled man to stand opposite Pein. "There are things other than worry that can make a person tremble."

"You weren't afraid?" he asked.

"I didn't say that."

He frowned, obviously not following her. Sighing Sakura shook her head and motioned towards a car that had been left open. A first aid kit was left on the seat, probably meant just for her in this dream. "Forget it, let me see your hands, I'll bandage them at least."

He let her lead him towards the open car and waited patiently as she pulled out the things she needed. Sitting down, she tugged on his hand, pulling him closer so that she could drip witch hazel over his wounds. He hissed, but didn't pull away. She was fast and worked neatly to dress his sore knuckles and open wounds. All the while he watched her, quiet and contemplative. Behind them the noise level lowered and only a few hoops and hollers pitched through the darkness.

"I didn't think it would be a good idea to let Sasori bring a girl along tonight, but it was the first time he ever asked for a favor, so I thought it would be a good thing for him to learn. I could tell him no and fight him on it and force him to leave you behind, but that would just upset everything." He looked up at her through his bangs and his eyes were less storm and more sky now, "Imagine my surprise when I followed that poor frightened angel out of the horror with the intention of bringing back something broken to our Scorpion, but found her to be the one breaking things," He laughed.

Sakura still held his hands on hers and pushed against the sore parts on his knuckles. With the alcohol still in the wounds he winced. "You're a sad sort of person to leave a girl till she's broken instead of helping. I should leave you to your own bandaging."

"I would have helped before anything happened, but you should have been scared enough to not come back, to stay away from Sasori. He doesn't need the distraction."

Sakura dropped his hands and then doused a pad in the stinging witch hazel. "You're an intrusive person. Bend down, I need to do your face."

"You don't think the scars will make me finer?" he asked in a rough timber.

It was too dark to see her blush, so Sakura bit her cheek and yanked on his chin. He came without complaint and she set to cleaning out the cuts on his high set cheekbones. He was handsome, there were no two ways about it. She didn't doubt he had his own history of broken hearts to put Sasori or Deidara to shame.

There were cuts in the corners of his mouth, and his lip was split. Sakura wiped at the blood with her pad but then pulled out a cloth with water on it to dab at his lips.

"Is he dating you?"

Sakura stopped dabbing, frustrated with the movement of his lips and a bit put off by the question. "I hope not. I'm not staying long enough to make commitments."

His chuckle was dark, thick like pure chocolate and just as bitter. "You didn't strike me as  _ that _ type of girl."

Sakura frowned in the dark and he caught the downturn of her lips well enough to know she was displeased. "I should know better than to expect your thoughts to go anywhere else," she bit out. "I don't date and I don't take up lovers. It's not worth the heartthrob. You can call me a tease, but nothing more. I don't give up those parts of me to anyone."

"Why not?"

Sakura pulled away and started packing up the first aid kit. "That's my business, thank you very much. Aside from that, this isn't really the time or place to be worrying about heart matters." Sakura found the latches and slid them up and down, locking the lid into place. When she looked up, Pein was still looming. She raised a single brow. "Yes, is there something more you want of me?"

Pein looked down at his hands and then glanced over the hood of the car at what was left of the fighting. It was all but quiet now. "You will come back with us, won't you?" Tearing his storm like eyes away from the scene he leaned back down, dangerously close to Sakura. "You might act like you were afraid, but I know enough to recognize an animal when I see one. You enjoyed it."

"I don't know what your-"

"Next time we go out, you should ride with me instead of Sasori," When Sakura tried to scoot back Pein grabbed a hold of her wrist and held her in place, "I don't see many men like you, and women are even rarer. Don't disappear on me, eh?"

* * *

_ "And now it's in you, secrecy. Ancient and vicious, luscious as dark velvet. It blooms in you a poppy made of ink."   
_ _ — Margaret Atwood, from 'Secrecy' _

* * *

Sakura woke later than she intended, and had to rush through her early morning routines before heading off to work. When she arrived back home at the end of the day, it felt like the first time in days that she had an actual moment of rest. Collapsing onto the couch, she let her sore legs lay flat.

There was a light flashing from the answering machine, but she ignored it. She could answer it later. If it was important they would have called her cell, and the only people that called her all day were Ami and Karin.

Ami… Sakura would have thought herself crazy for believing that the pair of them would be on friendly terms once out of high school. It was one thing to turn your worst enemy into your best friend once in your life, but Sakura doubted such miracles struck twice in one lifetime. After Karin, no other girl had tormented Sakura more throughout the adolescent years.

Sakura checked her recent texts to make sure and saw AMI typed into her contact list with three dozen texts back and forth from earlier. It wasn't a dream, Ami really had changed. Holding her phone above her head Sakura saw the pale bruises spread between her knuckles from her fight last night in the dream world. At least the skin hadn't broken. It was easier to hide bruises with dust and dirt. Everyone automatically assumed it came from the cleaning, and that was fine for her.

It was late already. In a few hours, she would be asleep again and back in the dream world. She didn't want to go back, not if it was anything like last night with the blood and the fists and the shouting. Pein and his storm cloud eyes wouldn't leave her head all day. He was terrifying and it made her want to turn away, but she couldn't. Sai with his coffee cup raised in the air, blessing her adventure, floated through her memory. Ah, yes, Sai. The little brat knew what was meant for her and he bid her off with a smile on his face.

When Sakura's phone buzzed she answered it without looking, her voice clipped and short. "Yes?"

"Sakura?"

"Mom!" Sakura mentally froze, feeling her gut clench and her insides tighten with the shame only her mother could make her feel. "You called."

There was a moment of pause before Sakura's mother breathed an exasperated breath on the other end of the line and clicked her tongue against the back of her teeth. "Really, you must improve upon that harsh personality of yours. This is the second time I've tried calling you. You never got back to me about how Ami's graduation celebration went. Was she pleased?"

"It went well. We ended up going out to eat afterwards and spent the whole time together. She said she would invite us back for a pool party later this week. Why?"

Mrs. Haruno made a happy sound into the receiver and Sakura heard other sounds that likely meant her mother was engaged in an activity aside from phone conversation. She's seen her mother do something similar in the past. Was she rearranging flowers or picking up old photo frames from their down turned positions? Was she stacking cups or setting keys on hooks where they belonged?

"That's perfect. I forgot to tell you that you could invite Ami over to stay if you wanted to. It's drab, but it's removed from the city and she might like it. You two should get to know each other better."

"Ah," Sakura said, glancing out the window when an idea struck her. "I would love to, but I think Ami wanted to hang out with the three of us somewhere; Karin, me, and her, you know? If I invited Ami to stay over it wouldn't be as appealing if Karin was left out."

"You can do that," the older woman snapped. "Don't make excuses. Invite Ami over and spend some time with that poor girl. Heaven knows she's been through enough hardship. She deserves some positive attention."

"I know."

Mrs. Haruno sighed. "Fine, that's all I wanted to say. I'm glad to hear you're doing well. We'll talk again." With a heavy click the line went dead.

Not knowing she was scowling, Sakura pulled the phone away from her ear and stared at the timer that flashed across the screen. It read 1.29 meaning one minute and twenty nine seconds was the entire duration of the phone call. Her mother couldn't even spend two minutes on her.

It was hours later by the time her anger abetted, and by then it was only because she had learned to live in her anger and wear it like a secret thing beneath her skin. She was more than one woman's daughter. She was a woman with a goal and a dream. She was going to school and soon, in a few years, she would be free from such childish feelings.

_ Keep lying to yourself if it makes things easier _ .

Slamming the cover down on her text book, Sakura kicked it across the room till it slid against the wall with her book bag and waste basket. Dressed for bed and cleaned from face to teeth, Sakura crawled under her covers and pulled out her phone to play on until she got tired. It wasn't long before she closed her eyes and woke up in a different place.

* * *

She was in the grass outside of town. The greenhouse that led to the Marble Gardens was close by. When people asked where she lived, she often told them just beyond the old greenhouse, not knowing where that was exactly. No one pressed the subject with her.

"I should go find people and try to get out of this world," she said aloud.

Above her the clouds drifted without sound. Sakura rolled over onto her side and slid her arm behind her head to lie on. The grass grew tall around her, hiding her in between its blades. Her jeans were dirty and her plaid button front was faded along the edges and tired at the ends above her waist line to hide how short it was on her adult body. She was dressed in old clothes today. Not something she wanted others seeing her in- even though she had the power to drown her body in diamonds, she didn't feel like changing. Her hair was loose too. She wondered if her face looked as worn out and tired as the rest of her. She didn't feel like checking.

"Damn it," she groaned to herself.  _ I came here to get away from how that woman makes me feel. Why do I still feel so crappy _ ?

The anger she wore under her skin weighed her down. It followed her into sleep and into dreams. Likely, it would be there again when she woke up in the morning. These things clung to her like possessed spirits. Regret, anger, distress, anxiety….

"What's the bird doing here with the bugs and bees?" a voice called out above her.

Sakura cracked open an eye to peer upwards at the figure who stood in front of the sun. Long blond hair, she remembered his name.

"Deidara, you're far from home," she drawled, not minding how heavy her voice sounded, almost like she had been screaming or crying for too long.

He frowned, kneeling down beside her and stretching out in the grass. "You find your way into curious places when you don't have wheels of your own. Other blocks don't trust me enough with my own ride for a while."

Sakura chuckled, closing her eyes again. "Why? Are you any more dangerous than they can honestly claim to be?"

She felt his hand on her face, brushing back her hair from where it fell too close to her eyes. She winced and turned away, but felt his hand hover nearby.

"Oi, you feeling okay?" His voice sounded concerned, less teasing than before. "You're not sick are you?"

She had a headache, but that was normal after getting so worked up over her mother. She had really let those numbers on her phone get to her more than usual. Maybe her period was coming up. That would explain the extra weight she felt around her waist and the acne puberty forgot to take with graduation.

Deidara drifted his hand over her forehead and felt it before turning his hand over and feeling the side of her face with the back of his hand. "You're a bit warm, but I don't think it's a fever."

"I could have told you that."

"Then why didn't you?" he asked teasingly. "What, you liked being touched so tenderly?"

Sakura  _ tisked _ and turned away on to her opposite side and pulled up her knees. "Don't imagine foolish things. You're the only one like that."

"E-eh? Oi, you're not mad are you? Hey, are you really not feeling well?" he asked, sounding honestly flustered. He sounded young, younger than the others.

"Figure it out for yourself," Sakura sighed into the grass, squeezing her eyes shut and curling up more. The more she tried not to think about things that irritated her, the worse her head felt. She felt the dirt catch behind her fingernails as she dug into the earth, desperate for a hold of something.

"I'm sorry," Deidara whispered quietly. "I didn't think…you didn't…it never seemed like you minded the teasing when Sasori or Pein…I…sorry. I didn't think. Do you want me to leave?"

Sakura breathed out into the grass, inhaling their scent. "You don't have to as long as you don't try singing…or screaming…or doing anything loud. I don't think my brain can take it right now."

"Okay, I can do that."

She heard him stretch out beside her and shift the grass like a carpet beneath his head. A minute later she heard his chuckle. When she didn't ask he whispered over in her direction anyway. "That cloud looks like a pooping dog."

Sakura snorted. "How elegant."

"Nah, it's true. It's in that like, not sitting not standing, oh darn. It's gone now, never mind."

Sakura opened one eye and looked towards the far end of the grass field where the hills dropped off into the sky. None of the clouds seemed like anything other than clouds to her, but she had never been good at seeing things in the sky after childhood rejected her.

"How was the fight? You guys did well?"

He laughed happily, but Sakura heard the dark undertone. "Yeah, you could say that. There are a few others that still don't know what's good for them, but it won't be long before everything's neat again." He shifted in the grass. "But what about you? Pein said you had a bit of your own. Your knuckles look fine to me though."

"I only punched one guy once, of course they're fine."

"Yeah, about that…" Sakura saw his shadow stand and heard him cross over till he was in front of her. He laid down, spread out so that their eyes were level. "Where did you learn how to knock out a grown man with one punch? I knew the punk. He's not made of metal, but he's solid enough that it would have taken a few smart bites from my own fists before he saw them stars."

"A girl can't be too careful, or rely on others for protection all the time. Besides, it's just one…"

"Still," Deidara interrupted, "that was impressive." His eyes were wide and alive with adoration. "You should ride with us next time too. I'll have my wheels back soon and then you can be my right hand passenger."

Sakura yawned. "Sure, whatever, just call me when it gets dangerous…and don't bother me if my head's throbbing, then we're golden."

"You're interesting for a girl. First time I ever saw you, you were dressed up like a fine bird, pretty as a peacock."

"You know female peacocks are brown and ugly, right? It's only the males that are colorful in order to attract a mate."

Deidara waved his hand absently, "You're missing the point. Pearls and lipstick and all that, I would have never in a hundred years peg you for something hard as nails. Though you did save Sasori from an untimely death via literature, I guess I should have known better. But the toughest girl I know is Konan and she won't ride with any of us."

"It's not a popular pastime for the ladies, I'll admit," Sakura said around another yawn. "But it's not that unbelievable. My best friend is a chick who has- _and can-_ beat me into a bloody pulp on any given day of the week. If you think I'm tough, you're just stuck in a dream. Ah, but she's a good girl now. She wouldn't hurt anyone who she didn't think deserved it."

"…She sounds scary. Why kind of company do you keep?"

Sakura looked up and grinned, scrunching her nose in response. "Only the most dangerous, duh. Why else would I hang out with you lot?"

Deidara met her smile with one of his own, throwing his hands behind his head again. "Fine, I won't complain if that's what it takes to keep you with us."

"I go where I please, kid. Don't think you can keep this sort of woman," Deciding she had had enough of lying around, Sakura sat up and stretched her legs out. She lifted her arms as well and felt her shirt ride up, "Dang, I'm a mess like this. I should change."

Deidara sat up and scooted closer to her. "Hey, hey, if you don't feel like being seen why don't you see a movie with me? There's a drive-in nearby, we can see a Hitchcock at. Sundown is in an hour."

Sakura made a disbelieving face. "I thought you didn't have a car."

Deidara shrugged. "Sasori doesn't need to know I borrowed his. Besides, it would only be for tonight, he can go without and not die."

"He won't be angry with you?"

"Pissed beyond belief, but I don't think he'll kill me, so that's a plus, right?"

Sakura looked up to the sky and saw that the sun really was setting faster than before. Seconds ago it had been mid day, hadn't it?

"Ah, yeah, I guess that's as good as anything." She stood and brushed the dirt from her knees. "But it's not a date. I can pay my own way."

Deidara looked like he was pouting, but he didn't complain. He just stood and followed her back towards the road. The pair of them walked all the way back to the diner where the cars from yesterday were all lined up and waiting while their owners lounged about inside.

Deidara didn't even pause as he reached in and manually unlocked the cherry red hot rod. Pulling out a spare key, he slid it in easy enough before helping Sakura into her seat. By the time the engine was loud enough to hear from inside, Deidara was dangerously pulling out with a wild laugh and a wilder turn. Sakura thought she saw a distressed figure running out of the diner, but they were already so far in so little time she didn't know if she was imagining it.

"Don't look too worried. Feel the wind and enjoy it!" Deidara cried, cruising faster. He stuck his free hand out the side and then his whole head, hollering with joy at the rush.

Sakura cursed, grabbing him by the collar of his shirt and dragging him back in before they could run off the road or into someone else. He just laughed at her ticked off expression before swallowing his pride and apologizing.

"This wasn't what I had in mind when I signed up for danger," Sakura grumbled.

"Ah, don't be sour, bird," he chirped, reaching over and pecking her cheek, "You're safe as a babe with me."

The town rose and fell and then rose again all around them as they took a sharp bend to a distant corner where Sakura hadn't visited before. Sakura didn't complain again about Deidara's crazy driving, but chose to enjoy the subtle danger he allowed himself at their modest speeds.

Up ahead, beyond the last rays of twilight light there was a large white sheet where rows and rows of cars parked to watch. Deidara pulled up to the drive through window and bought their tickets before Sakura could pull out her dreamed up money. In response, Sakura ordered salted popcorn and cracker jacks for the both of them, plus a pair of cokes to wash it down.

"Does Sasori mind that we're eating in his car?" she asked, after placing her order with the boy on skates.

Deidara chuckled wickedly. "No more or less than having his car pinched by his best friend. He'll live."

Sakura shrugged, popping in a single kernel of popcorn at a time, catching them with her tongue when they nearly missed her mouth. One bounced off her lip and Deidara was there to snatch it up before she could. She frowned, telling him to stay away from her food when she bought him his own.

"Not as fun," he quipped as the lights around them went out and the flicker began playing on the big screen. Alfred Hitchcock's  _ The Birds _ illuminated the blank canvas.

Sakura leaned back into her seat, tasting the food that was only memory in her mouth. It wasn't real food, but she remembered how it tasted, so it still made her taste buds dance. It was the best of both worlds; she got the great taste and none of the calories.

They were halfway through the movie when she heard the noises from outside that weren't meant for the picture. Deidara reached over and adjusted the volume on the speaker clipped to the side of their car. He lowered it and put a finger to his lips, silently asking for her silence. Sakura nodded.

Deidara was halfway out of his car when violent hands fisted into his white shirt and dragged him all the way out. Sakura tried exiting out her side door but was pushed back in by a stranger leaning against the glass and leering in impishly. She instantly recoiled, scooting backwards across the seat. She jumped for the second time when she heard Deidara's body slam back against the metal of the hot rod. Blood spattered across the glass, jumping from his lips.

Deidara caught her eye through the glass and grinned through his bangs. There were dark shadows around his eyes, but the blue of his irises was neon bright. He looked beautiful dressed in blood.

There were three other guys around Deidara, not including the guy who blocked Sakura's escape. Four in total…no, there was a fifth coming in from between two nearby cars. Sakura looked towards the tinted windows of the cars around them and found them all empty. Had they always been like that or had they been waiting in those same cars?

More blood fell onto the gravel, but it wasn't Deidara's. He was a cut of lightning in converse sneakers. She saw elbows and shoulder blades and the longer strands of his honey blond hair whipping around as he pile-drived a man's face into the ground. The other two rushed him at once and he was caught, but not before kicking one in the face and elbowing the other. They dug into his stomach with their knuckles and he buckled over their fists, coughing spit and blood.

The one he drove into the ground struggled upwards with some help, but there was too much distortion in his eyes to make him much of a fighter for the rest of the night. He wobbled off to sit down somewhere and nurse his migraine, leaving Deidara bent on his knees and surrounded by four rival greasers.

One spit off to the side and moved to grab Deidara by the scalp, but was thrown off as Deidara surged, biting down hard on the kid's wrist before releasing and reeling with his fists again. The other three moved as one and this time Deidara ducked and dived out of the way, knowing he couldn't take all of them on at once. He tripped the shortest one up and his buddy fell over the shortie. The third climbed over his friends and kicked wide, missing and falling forward with too much damage to his kidneys. Deidara laughed before being taken from behind by the two he tripped up earlier.

Sakura yelped when she saw them begin to wail on him. Deidara was a shell on the gravel, pulled tight and desperate to protect his face from their heels as they stomped on him. They were going to kill him at this rate.

The brass knuckles formed between her fingers before she knew what she was doing. She was out on the gravel, knees bent, torso turned, feet planted firm. With a single breath she tore one of the boys off Deidara and let him eat her metal. He went down and didn't get up again. The other two reacted before they knew they were fighting a girl and Sakura caught a fist on her jaw. She tasted the blood, but didn't feel the pain. She would when she woke up, but that wasn't important now.

She moved with the punch, pulling away and feinting a fall. She turned towards the ground, scooped some gravel with her free hand and twisted so she was flinging it into their faces. It was dirty, but it was enough to stun them so that she could target the solar plexus of the one and exploit it. His watering eyes went wide before slipping shut.

The shortest boy moved back and tripped over Deidara, who was still on the ground. Sakura advanced and he screamed, high pitched and frantic. He was wild on the ground, scratching out a foot/hand hold to propel himself forward and away. Sakura let him go, but wasn't too surprised when she saw him trip again. She was surprised when she saw a red head emerge from between the cars and dive onto the boy till the kid couldn't stand anymore.

From on the ground Deidara laughed. "You think he'll go easy on me if I look like shit?" he asked through a couple of broken ribs. Sakura winced at the sound of his voice.

"You don't have to play it up, you sound terrible." She knelt down beside him and helped him turn over, moving him gently when the blond hissed in plain. Her fingers ghosted over his chest, feeling the hectic swelling rushing forward. "Yeah, your ribs are broken."

He still managed to laugh. "How's my face, bird?"

Sakura frowned, checking for bruises. His mouth was bleeding, but thankfully his nose didn't look broken out of place, which was surprising considering how much he had been hit. "It's terrible looking, but at least it's not broken. Don't be vain, we need to take you to a hospital."

"Not a good idea," Deidara grunted as Sasori approached the duo. "Just take me to Konan and I'll be fine."

"Your ribs are broken," Sakura bit out, feeling angry. "Don't be a dick about it and let us take you to a hospital. You could have internal bleeding because of this," She looked up to Sasori, "Don't fight me on this."

"Considering you've felled more men than I," Sasori eyed the two boys Sakura knocked out, "I will agree this time. Move him into my car. Where are the keys?"

"Ignition," Sakura muttered, moving behind the blond and threading her arms under his.

Sasori helped, and together they managed to maneuver Deidara into the cramped backseat without disturbing his broken insides too much. Sakura wanted to sit backwards so she could watch him, but Sasori turned her around and reached over to buckle her in because he wasn't sure she would herself. Sakura scowled at how he babied her, but didn't say anything on account of how close they were. When the red head looked up their faces were inches apart.

"You're hurt."

He reached for her face and tentatively touched her lips with the pads of his fingers, picking up her blood and letting it sink into his fingerprints. Sakura jerked her head back, feeling blood rush to her face. "It's nothing."

"Which one was it?" Sasori growled.

Sakura tried to shove him away but he grabbed her arms by the elbows and stopped her. His eyes were trapped fire behind black lashes. He wouldn't let her go till he got an answer, or till she said something.

"I don't remember. I…One of the two I knocked out I guess. They're not getting up anytime soon, don't think I can't take care of myself."

Sasori didn't move away or let go of her arms. "I know well enough that you can handle your own. Pein was colorful in his retelling." The words fell from his lips like acid and Sakura felt his irritation fill their tiny car as if it were an actual presence. He swallowed, averting his eyes but not his hands. "You…left before I could see you again."

Sakura didn't like how close he felt. She knew they were in tight quarters, but it was more than just physical proximity, he was all around her, his eyes made for nothing but her examination. She felt choked by his attention and flustered. Shrugging she looked out the window. "Yeah, I hadn't planned on being a part of the party. I got tired and wanted to book it. That a problem?"

"Sakura," He called out to her, wanting her attention.

She turned back to look at him and he pulled her towards him, only enough that she fell against his chest. She felt his arms around her back and the security of his embrace struck her as terrifying and awesome. Such powerful things were cradling her now. He buried his head in her messy hair as the birds cawed outside on the movie screen. She tried calling his name but he just inhaled her scent, his lips finding her ear. She felt the kiss even though it was as light as a bird's wing on the shell of her ear.

Whispering into her ear, he sent shivers racing across her body. "Don't go where I can't follow. I'll protect you, so don't think you need Pein or Deidara or anyone else."

Deidara groaned loudly, pain evident in his voice. Sakura snapped back to attention and pulled away. He let her go, relinquishing her even though it was only a few inches away. Sakura looked back out the window, feeling her face burn while Sasori glowered in Deidara's direction.

"We-we should get going," Sakura whispered to no one in particular. Subconsciously, she pressed herself as close to the side of the car as possible and as far away from Sasori's lips as she could get.

The red head sighed, said nothing, and started the car. They were on their way before long, racing down the road towards the hospital. In the backseat Deidara fought to stay awake, reaching over the top of the front row seat to grab Sakura's hand. She held it, even though she could feel Sasori stiffen beside her.

He liked her, she knew that much, but he was a dream, and dreams aren't worth getting so worked up about.

So why couldn't she make the red in her cheeks drain?

* * *

_ "You kiss me with your mouth wide open like you're not afraid of swallowing poison. I taste the good and bad in you and want them both. We call this bravery."  
_ _ -Anita Ofokansi, Literary Sexts _

* * *

A week passed, and Sakura got to know the members of the Morning Rovers gang better.

Hidan was the boy with slicked back silver blond hair and angry blue eyes that looked purple in the right amount of shade. The two dark haired boys were Itachi and his cousin, Shisui. Itachi was the more reserved cousin, while Shisui had no qualms about raising his voice or flirting with the ladies. Every time Sakura saw him with a girl, it was a different one.

She knew Pein well enough, as well as Deidara and Sasori. Konan was the subtle glue to the group that she enjoyed getting to know the most. Pein and Konan were foster siblings, having grown up together with another boy, Nagato, who later ended up dating and marrying Konan. Though she didn't fight, the blue haired beauty kept a double barrel winchester rifle behind the counter she didn't mind pulling out when fights got rowdy outside her kitchen.

Naruto introduced her to some of his friends later on, but Sakura didn't remember any of them since they didn't have faces she could see. Still, she enjoyed Naruto's company and made it a point to seek him out whenever she felt stifled by the others. Sasori was a dark presence that was more her shadow than her friend. She never felt threatened or endangered by him, but that didn't mean she didn't think he was just a bit on the menacing side, especially when Pein was around. He found Deidara annoying, but his dislike for Pein was different.

"Do you want to see their histories?" Sai asked, appearing in front of her, summoned like a thought.

Sakura blinked, too used to his sudden appearances to jump or gasp anymore. She was sitting among the pallets and crates of food newly delivered to the diner. Konan had signed for them but was busy taking orders, so Sakura offered to put them away for the older female. Sai stood in the shadows between two crates.

"I really wouldn't. Thanks, but no thanks," Sakura huffed, shifting a crate sideways with her foot till it hit the wall, "What are you even doing here anyway? You've been like…oddly detached the past week. This is the first time I've seen you in three days. What came up?"

Sai's face didn't shift, but his gaze lowered. "I was present. You were not aware." He lifted his eyes once more. "Do you wish to see their histories now? It will help complete the kingdom."

The kingdom as he called it, was growing increasingly more complex the longer Sakura stayed in it. More and more people with fuzzy faces were starting to develop characteristics. She could still tell an actor apart from an extra, but she wondered what it would be like in a week or two weeks time. Would there come a dream when their faces were no longer distinguishable? That was likely, meaning she had to do what she could as soon as she could before the level or the kingdom, (as Sai called it), became any more difficult.

There had been that one boy with the painfully clear face he tried so hard to keep hidden the first time she saw her gang fight. He hadn't turned up since, but if her gut was anything to go on, she was willing to bet he was someone worth watching out for in this dream, unlike Kakashi the gas pump attendant that hadn't done much more than give her helpful advice and keep an eye out for her. Sai once told her there would be actors that weren't that active in this kingdom, but paramount figures in latter kingdoms.

"How would you show me their histories?" Sakura finally asked, finding her hands empty and her chores completed.

She had nothing else she needed to do, but felt like she should always be kept active while in the dream world. When she was awake she was much the same way, needing to be useful and active.

Sai reached out, and the darkness was too wide and his arm too long. Being too far away, he shouldn't have been able to reach her and grab the frontal portion of her head and grip it between his fingers. She felt his nails bite gently into her skin, trying not to break skin, but not willing to loosen for comfort. She opened her mouth to tell him she hadn't agreed to anything yet ( _ typical Sai _ ), when the white flooded behind her eyes, washing the world around her away and repainting it in hues of green and greener.

The boys were actually boys….as in children not yet conquered by puberty, but touched by the earliest onset of adulthood to come. Maybe thirteen, maybe fourteen, maybe twelve, they were schoolhouse kids hanging out by the creek in the greenest meadow Sakura had ever imagined. There was a tree and a tire tied by a rope swinging back and forth.

Konan was there too, the only girl. She sat between a younger Pein and another boy with sickly eyes and dark hair. The rest of her friends were moving too fast and too far away for Sakura to identify.

"Too far," Sai breathed in her mind and the world bleed green and white again before Sakura could figure out whose hand Konan was holding.

'The boyfriend, Nagato.'

Nagato was in the forefront of the next image she fell into with Sai, but he wasn't the sickly little boy holding a girl's hand under the summer sun. He was mean and deadly, dressed in black and red leather. _ Morning Rovers _ was stitched across the back of his red leather jacket with a small red cloud curling off the end of the last letters in the word Rovers. His hair was greased back, but thin snakelike strands slipped free to fall in front of his eyes as he breathed heavily. In his hands was a board of plywood dipped and splattered with blood.

He laughed and it was enough to disturb the most solid parts of Sakura's heart. In the background, Sasori reclined against the side of a building, smoking into the darkness. Hidan was there too, but Deidara was absent, as well as the Uchiha cousins.

Tossing the board aside, Nagato walked away from the scene that had been cropped out for Sakura. He walked apart from his fellow greasers, and by the time he reached the old house that looked like one good wind would tip it over, there was another figure in the picture. Alone, Nagato confronted the younger version of Pein, who was dressed for academia. Sakura almost didn't recognize Pein, he was dressed more like a Teddy Boy than a greaser.

"What's that?" Pein hissed with conviction, eyes locked on the blood splattered across Nagato's chest.

"Work. Why, you worried?" Nagato laughed. Anyone else would have backed down but Pein held himself up and stared down at the slouching brother. "If you're concerned you can try driving with me and the boys next time."

"You're going to get yourself killed one of these days, or worse! What do you think will happen to Konan then? You, oh so noble soul, do all this for her sake, but what will she have left when you're dead?"

"No one is going to kill me," Nagato snapped, his voice hard like the first bites of January frost, "Get back inside the house. You're not supposed to even be here. What happened to Berkley?"

"It's Spring break."

"Fun for you," he laughed, waving his hands with mock excitement. Nagato climbed up the first few steps and stopped before he could pass his brother, their shoulders drawn even and their faces facing forward. "Don't get in the way while you're back. I'm doing just fine without you here."

"What are you going to do about the Uchiha? They won't let you go on and on like this for long. Prison bars never seemed like your thing."

"Let me worry about the Uchiha. I have two things they need, so they won't be touching me until never." With one last quip Nagato shouldered his way through and disappeared into the house.

There was white and there was gold and blue and Sakura was staring up at the sky before looking down at Sasori, dressed in black leather and mocking in the broad light of day, glaring across the way at Pein, who stood in front of a bruised Deidara. The blond held his nose as it bled over his fingers and Sakura heard the curses as they spilled in muffled tumbles from his lips. Deidara wasn't dressed much better than now, but he wasn't a greaser and neither was Pein.

Sasori pulled his cigarette from his lips and chuckled out breaths of soft smoke. "Just artistic differences, pops."

Pein didn't have storms in his eyes, but they were still dangerous to be caught under. "Fine, but that's enough. I told Nagato to cool his jets about this. He can't expect slave-like devotion from people he barely knows."

"It's fine," Deidara wheezed, still holding his bleeding nose, "I can take care of myself now."

Pein looked back over his shoulder and sighed. Without another word he walked away, crossing the street to pass behind Sasori. Sakura thought that would be the end of it, but then Pein snapped and too far away to make contact, he swung, and Sasori went down. Pein's arm was too fast and too far reaching for Sasori to have ever expected it. Folded on the sidewalk, the redhead held his face and spit blood. It wasn't a broken nose, but it was enough for him to know that Pein wasn't someone worth messing with.

"I wasn't raised alongside that kid for nothing," Pein hissed, flashing lightning in his eyes.

The world bled white again, but this time it was painful and Sakura cried out reaching up to rip Sai's hands away from her head. She tripped over her own ankles and tumbled backwards, landing without issue on her back. She was breathing too hard, and it was a wonder she hadn't shocked herself awake.

Sai's hand reached towards her face again and Sakura jerked away, but it hadn't been his vice like grip and his digging nails he offered. He looked hurt, but it was only for a moment before he turned to smoke and left her alone in the room for the next few seconds before Konan stormed in, looking ready to zap something with the laser beams from her eyes.

She scanned the room looking for another figure but sighed when she only saw Sakura on her back. "Did you trip?"

"No….maybe." Sakura mentally debated the pros and cons of being honest before deciding it was easier to lie and let Konan believe she was clumsy. "I didn't hurt anything though. The delivery's fine."

Konan raised her chin in Sakura's direction. "Your back isn't. Stand up and turn around."

Sakura did as she was told and the older girl wasted no time on formalities before raising up the back of Sakura shirt and feeling the bones down her spine. "You're lucky. You were so loud I thought for sure you would at least bruise. What were you doing back here? Are you done unloading?"

"Yeah, it's all done," Sakura said, tugging her shirt back down and tucking it into her high rise shorts so that it didn't flap around loosely. "I was going to go and tell you when I tripped over a box or something. Do you need help with anything else?"

Konan rolled her eyes. "No, that's all I need, for you to fall and hurt yourself while in my diner. I don't need my brother making angry faces at me, same as Sasori nowadays."

Sakura brushed the dust off her shorts and huffed. "What would Sasori have to glare at you for? And Pein loves you too much to be angry at you for anything."

"Sasori has always had something wrong in the head, but you're just fishing in the wrong stream if you want me saying anything about how obviously entranced the boys are with something shiny and new." Konan turned to glance behind her and make sure Sakura was following her back to the front. "Speaking of those boys, why aren't you with them now, wherever they are?"

Sakura avoided eye contact, choosing to look away as she moved to clean up the empty tables. "I'm going with Naruto to the sock hop at his high school. Can you see how that would go down with Red if he were here?"

"Does he know?" Konan laughed.

"I told him it wasn't his business where I went. He knows I like hanging out with Naruto and his friends. I'm not really one of the boys. I don't only get my kicks out by bashing in another idiot's skull."

Konan chuckled to herself, rubbing the back of her neck. "You're a terrible tease."

"Why?" Sakura asked with a flare of attitude, popping a single hip to rest her hand atop. "I was perfectly clear from the beginning what they could and couldn't expect from me. Girlfriend wasn't on the list."

"Don't stop a boy from wanting what a boy wants." Konan tossed Sakura a damp dishcloth for Sakura to wipe clean the bussed table. "They're still going to dream and believe they can change your mind at the end of the day. Sad as it is, boys don't believe that women can survive without a man to hang off of."

"Not my problem," Sakura quipped, failing to mention how little she cared about the boys considering they were all figments of a dream and not actual human beings.

If they had been real men of the waking world, Sakura doubted she would act so brazenly. If they had been real men…she might have even been intimidated, but not here, not in her dreams, not on her turf would she compromise a single percentage of her being.

"I don't care what you do with Sasori, he can get his heart and head all broken at the same time, that's fine with me. But I'll speak for Pein because he's my family, and precious as anyone else on this earth. He may act like he doesn't care, or like he's playing, but….be gentle with his feelings if you don't want them. That boy was born under a bad star from the beginning."

"I don't think Pein-" Sakura cut her words short when she saw the raw eyes of the blue haired girl behind the counter. Konan had bared the truth and was waiting for Sakura to recognize it as such. Konan was a woman of strength and power who didn't bow to anyone, but Sakura felt like she had seen the weakness Konan always kept hidden. Sakura swallowed and nodded. "Got it. I'll be careful with Pein. Thanks for telling me."

Sakura headed for the door but stopped with her hand on the silver handle, a thought keeping her from leaving. "Konan, what would you say is the end game for you guys?"

Konan made a face of displeasure, curling her lip and wrinkling her nose. "What do you mean, end game?"

"This thing with the boys, the fighting, the drag racing, the turf wars, when does it end…how does it end?"

Darkness fell into the older woman's eyes. "Pein is doing what he can, but we will have no peace until Nagato comes back and reestablishes his kingdom here, making peace like the one that existed before he got sick."

"When will he get better?" Sakura asked, feeling like she didn't want to know the answer.

Konan shrugged, saying nothing. Running a hand through her hair she turned away and Sakura saw the tightness in the lines of her neck, making her jaw that much more sharp on her face as she fought back the emotions pooling in her throat. Sakura recognized the posture. Konan was trying not to cry.

'He's not going to get better.'

Sakura nodded to herself, finding her own throat grew tight with shame. "Never mind, I should get going. Thank you for earlier, and I'm sorry if I ever made you worry. I'll keep him safe."

With that, Sakura passed out into the open, leaving Neptune behind her. Somewhere between there and the driveway leading down to the school, her shorts melted away and were replaced with the long thick folds of a pale green skirt to match her eyes. Her top was white and cut low with a sweetheart neckline that made the lines of her swan neck that much more elegant. A string of pearls graced her collarbones.

Naruto met her at the door, ecstatic and wild with his hand waving. Before she could wave back he had run over to her and scooped her up in a twirling hug.

"Naruto!" she chastised, suddenly hyper aware of how this would look and how he would take it if she left him thinking it was okay to just grab her like that. If Pein or Sasori had seen that…

"Sorry," he laughed, setting her back down and rubbing the back of his neck. His smile was wide and bright against his blushing face. "I'm just glad you came. You wouldn't let me pick you up so I didn't know if you would find this place."

"I'm sure I would have managed. Nearly everyone in this town knows where this place is, if I got lost all I had to do was ask for directions." Sakura frowned looking past him into the school gym where girls and guys danced in socks on the smooth wood floor. "Were you waiting long?"

"Nah, I was just saying hi to a few of the guys. Lee and Tenten just went inside. You missed them by a minute."

"Maybe we can catch them between songs." Sakura took a deep breath. "You sure it's not too complicated? I don't think I've ever been to an authentic sock hop before, and I'm not a very good dancer."

Naruto laughed, still red in the face. "You don't have to be. I lead and I'm good enough for the both of us. You just have to enjoy yourself."

"Shouldn't be too difficult," she replied, taking his arm and letting him lead her out onto the dance floor.

It wasn't long before she felt her legs and stomach pinch in pain as fire flared under her skin. At The Hop, preformed by Danny and the Juniors, they jumped from the stage where the four young males sang live their doo wop. It was enough to make Sakura sweat and gasp as she struggled to keep up with Naruto. It looked so simple and easy and fun, but it was so high energy Sakura found it harder than imagined to keep up and keep going.

She saw Naruto's friends Lee and his girlfriend Tenten dancing a bit further down. The two of them looked like professionals, going hard among the couples who looked as winded as Sakura felt. When the song ended, Sakura had to hold onto Naruto as he led her off the dance floor and towards the bleachers where she could sit. Together they laughed at how tired they were only after a handful of songs.

"Drink?" Naruto asked, jabbing a thumb at the punch table across the gym where a handful of dowdy boys loitered.

"Sure," Sakura sighed, feeling parched all of a sudden.

She watched and waited as her golden haired friend made his way hopping and sliding in between kids to the punch table where he filled two glasses. Sakura kept an eye on the glasses and made sure they were always in Naruto's hands and not tampered with. Just because she was in a dream didn't mean she couldn't possibly consume something less than healthy. Better safe than sorry.

When Naruto came back Sakura took a whiff of her drink and smelled the alcohol. "They spiked it already!"

Naruto took a taste and made a face. "Eh, only a little though. How could you tell before tasting it?"

"You can't smell it?" she asked.

Sakura took a taste herself and recognized the straight up whiskey Karin enjoyed. Knowing she was nowhere near her limit, Sakura knocked back the glass and finished it off. At least it wasn't a date rape drug.

Naruto might have said something about the legal limit before tasting his as well. He made it halfway through before it disgusted him too much and he had to put it down. Sakura laughed at the faces he made and he whined about how he felt like he had just licked the tar off a roadway.

That was when Sakura recognized a face among the crowd. Grabbing his arm, Sakura pointed to the face among the people and made sure Naruto was looking where she was. "The kid in the glasses and big hair, who's he?"

"Shino?" Naruto's eyes lit up before he climbed to his feet and waved his hands over his head. "Hey Shino! Shino! SHINO, over here."

Sakura made a face, scooting away from Naruto when people turned to stare. Most of them knew the blond enough to not be phased by his antics, but some still stared like the kid grew a second head. From across the floor, the boy named Shino glowered darkly but stalked through the crowd up to where Naruto stood atop his bleachers. The blond laughed and raced down to meet the darker teen.

"Shino, it's been forever you sly dog. What you been up to? I haven't seen you since you graduated."

"I've been busy," Shino drawled, looking away from Naruto, his eyes scanning the room before locking onto Sakura who sat reclining against the bleachers. She had Naruto's spiked drink in her hand and was holding it up to her lips. She let the lids of her eyes descend part way, sizing him up as subtly as possible while he did the same. There was no way he didn't recognize her by the way he kept staring at her. Eventually Naruto noticed and fumbled to make introductions.

"Shino, this is Sakura, she's new to the area. Sakura, this is Shino, my friend from high school before graduation. He's a year older than me."

Shino inclined his head and Sakura nodded. "Nice to meet you," she replied.

His voice was dark but reserved, hidden deep in his throat. "Yes, but we've seen each other before, haven't we?"

"That's not an introduction, and even an introduction isn't enough to get to know someone."

"Oh?" he sounded bored, but Sakura was sure there was something more to the tone he was taking with her. He was trying to not sound interested.

"Yes," Sakura said nodding. "If I really wanted to get to know someone a dance is the bare minimum I would think. You look free, so how about it?"

The band was starting up another set, their lead singer speaking into the microphone and addressing the masses. Shino frowned, looking to Naruto, who was still all smiles, and then Sakura. She smiled and it wasn't the pleasant happy sort of smile, but the cat-like grin of a predator who just snagged something in their trap.

"Come on Shino, you can do it," Naruto goaded.

Sakura masked her pleasure with an air of nonchalance as Shino led her to the slowed down dance floor. "I don't dance well. I have no energy for it," he mumbled.

"Good thing this is a slow song." Sakura let him rest his hands on her while she hooked hers behind his neck. "But that's surprising for someone who hangs out around thug monkeys."

"He still has a black eye, thank you very much."

Sakura chuckled, her own voice dropping. "I'm glad to hear that." She leaned in closer and she could feel his discomfort at the proximity. "You wouldn't happen to be someone who sets themselves up against those boys, are you?"

Shino leaned away but didn't pull back. "I'd like to think of myself as a neutral party in this play. I don't take sides, but I can tell you it won't matter if Nagato doesn't recover. Pein is good, but he's not the god this underbelly world needs."

"A little drastic for petty turf fights, don't you think?" Sakura scoffed.

It was Shino's turn to lean in and grip her waist tight. His breath on his ear made her flinch. "You have no idea what you're playing with, girlie. Get out of town before your friends taste brass. The rest of the Uchiha family won't stay quiet for long, and there is a reason they've run the police for three generations."

"What does Nagato have to do with any of that?" Sakura asked.

"He's the only one who can keep those monsters in place, obviously." Shino made a  _ tisking _ sound in his mouth before turning his face away. "Don't wait for it. Soon the city will move in."

"It's not that big of a deal," Sakura breathed, but even as the words left her lips she felt their truth vanish.

It was the same as what Konan mentioned earlier. Pein was a good leader, dark and commanding, but Nagato was the end game.

She was so wrapped up in her thoughts she didn't notice the shadow looming closer until her hands were pulled away from Shino. She turned and looked up and saw the sharp profile of Sasori glaring down at Shino. She had seen him angry before and she recognized the signs easy enough.

"I think you're done here," Sasori said with a voice like a sunburn. Sakura felt charred all the way through just hearing it. He was angry.

Shino didn't seem intimidated though. He held up his hands in a less than concerned manner and backed away. Sakura heard him mutter 'whatever' under his breath before slipping into the crowd. Sakura turned around to look up at the red head who still held her hands.

"Sasori?"

He dragged her away from the dance and back out into a hallway where the shadows and darkness were long and dominant. She tried calling his name again but he led her to a far wall and pinned her there.

"Do you know him?" he asked between breaths. He was fighting to keep his temper down.

"Shino? Naruto introduced me."

"He's a dope dealer. He's dangerous. If he wanted it he could have…" Sasori growled and snapped his fists open so that Sakura was free. She heard him curse under his breath.

Sakura hissed at the way her wrists stung. "I wasn't in any danger back there. We were just talking. What's wrong with that? You look seriously freaked out."

It was a moment before Sasori said anything. "…He was holding you."

"Obviously. It was a slow dance. How else do you think I could have managed to make him say anything to me?"

Sasori frowned, clenching and unclenching his fists. Sakura saw his eyes go to the red rings around her wrists before moving away to focus on the far wall. "Why didn't you tell anyone where you would be tonight? I was looking for you."

"Please, Red," Sakura breathed, rolling her eyes. "I'm not a child that has to check in on you every night, and I'm not one of your boys, so you can't order me around like one of them. I'll go where I please and do what I want. You don't have to worry about me."

Wordless he reached for hands again, lacing his fingers in with her own before pulling them up towards his face. He turned her hands over and brought her wrists up to his face to inspect them. "I'm sorry," he whispered before kissing the inside of her wrists where red rings marked her skin. Sakura gasped when his lips dipped lower down her arm and then up towards her palms. She tried to pull away but he stopped her, far less harsh than before.

"I'm not a patient person, Sakura. I've desired your presence from the first time we met. Be my girl."

"Sasori, I told you not to-"

"I want to kiss you, I want to hold you, I want to be the only one who dances with you. I know what you said, but I think I can be more than just a friend. You're perfect and I want you."

She felt her knees go boneless. It got hard to stand all of a sudden, and breathing got harder. His eyes were smoldering fires, and his lips were poisoned flowers, pressing together on her skin in reverence. She hadn't looked too closely before, but for probably the first time since their encounter, Sakura looked at Sasori like a human being, like a man and not a dream character.

'Oh shit what have I done?'

Sasori reached for her and folded her within his arms. She felt the heat of his body and every curve of his physique as he buried his face in her hair. Sakura trembled and he breathed across the shell of his ear.

"Don't fret, doll," he whispered. "Pein doesn't matter, Deidara doesn't matter, not even that blond kid matters. Don't look at any of them, just look at me," Sakura thought she was shaking but realized it was Sasori who shivered against her. His breathing was heavy too. "Only me. No one else, only me."

"Sasori, let me-" 

Sakura began to say but then he reached down and kissed her deep and full. She tasted all of him and all of his desperation and fear and want. He was real, oh so real, and he was kissing her. Sakura had never been kissed like that before and she felt it deep in her bones how everything that made up her as a person shook at the foundations. There was no breath left in her as he stole it all from her lips. When they broke the stars were dancing behind her eyes from oxygen depletion, (no one ever taught her how to breath in such a situation), but Sasori was perfect. She couldn't feel her legs as he stared down at her.

He kissed her cheek and let his lips linger before letting her go. "No one else," he said before disappearing out the way he came.

Like falling down a staircase Sakura slipped through the layers of her dream and into waking.

"Good dream?" Karin teased from in the bathroom where she brushed her teeth.

Sakura blinked, still lost in her stupor and Karin just laughed louder.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ahhh, Sasori is such a doll. I love him dearly.


	3. Neptune Diner

######  _ "You see, I want a lot. Maybe I want it all: the darkness of each endless fall, the shimmering light of each ascent." _

######  _ -Rainer Maria Rilke, from The Book Of Hours _

"I'm not going back there," Sakura hissed as Sai trailed after her through the grass and towards the towering greenhouse. "This is too crazy to deal with right now."

"They are aware of you now. If you avoid them for one night, the story will progress without you."

Sakura wheeled on her heel and grabbed Sai by the front of his black turtleneck. "Honey, look at my face and tell me how much you think I care." Her tone was sweet and overly sugared, but the message was aggressive.

Sai swallowed, looking honestly concerned for the first time. Making a  _ tisking _ sound in her mouth, Sakura let the boy go and turned back towards the greenhouse with the words Marble Gardens worked in glass over the front doors. He kept close to her as she pushed the doors inwards and stepped through the vacuum that took her from one world into the next.

When the light faded, Sakura was dressed in white satin and a gold guided bodice. The dress floated freely around her bare feet and hung off her bare shoulders. It was a drastic step up from what Sakura was used to. Gold triangles bounced against her cheeks when she turned her head and she heard the beads from her hair net fall against the pins that kept her hair piled up.

"Why here?" Sai asked, still beside her.

"You're the only one who can cross between the gate world and the kingdom. I don't want to run into any of them, and you told me this place is safe since I've defeated it. I'm not going to turn into stone here," Sakura curled her hands into fists, "There is nowhere else I can go for respite."

Sai said nothing as Sakura left to walk through the garden, in between tall standing shrubs and beds of roses, poppies, and several other flowers she couldn't remember the names of. They were all large and all beautiful. The statues were less frightening and were able to look beautiful without her fear tainting everything in her vision.

By the time she had made a half circle around the garden, she spied Sai waiting inside a white painted gazebo that overlooked a small pond with rainbow fish swimming back and forth. When she came up behind him, he looked surprised to see her.

"What?" she asked, making a displeased face.

"I didn't think you would want to see me."

Sakura shrugged, staring into the pond. "I got bored on my own. I didn't like it as much as I thought I would," She glanced sideways at the dark haired boy, "And you're not as annoying as the others at this moment. I don't mind your presence."

Sai tossed some seed into the pond. "Are they really that troubling?"

Sakura made an irritated sound that was nearly a growl. "No….just Sasori really, but I don't want to have to see any of them. I'm sick of it all, I'm tired from constantly being on, and I need some legit rest! I just…" Sakura closed her eyes and sighed, "I just want things to not be so complicated in my dreams of all places."

Sai said nothing, but watched as she stared into the pond with vacant eyes before realizing her mistake. "Sorry, didn't mean to drift off like that."

"I'm sorry you feel unwell," Sai carefully replied, "What would make you feel better now?"

Sakura closed her eyes and held her lids down, refusing to open them to the world again for a long time. Finally she breathed deep and blinked. "When will this all be over?" she whispered. "When does this end for me?"

"After this kingdom there are three others as well as their gates and the bridges that connect them. It could be months more before you reach the next gate, and years before seeing the next kingdom."

"I can't be here that long," Sakura bit out, "I can't be like the others; I need to end this."

Sai said nothing, but he watched her with a subtle intensity, like an artist who studies his landscapes before capturing them on canvas. "You will not take so long. You are…young, and your imagination is healthy. Those that came before you could never grasp their surroundings so well or see so vividly."

"What happened to them?"

Sai did not answer.

A pair of songbirds took off overhead, catching a wind that shook the roses free of their looser petals. Sakura felt them brush past her face and drop at her feet. Within moments the petals shriveled and were gone, vanished as if they had never existed in the first place. Sai would not meet her eyes when she looked up.

"I see. Has anyone ever made it to the last kingdom?"

"One, a boy long ago, but you haven't met him here."

Something cold dropped inside of Sakura and at once she felt the vastness of the ocean span within her. She was infinite unto herself as the shock beat at her heart with dull fists. If there was a word to describe feeling lost or adrift, it would have been appropriate for her in that moment.

"The actors….Naruto and Sasori and the others…the ones I can see…they were all a part of this curse before me. They opened the Obelisk as I once did."

It wasn't a question, and she didn't need to see or hear from Sai to know she was correct. The truth of it echoed within her.

"Oh God," she breathed aloud, "They're real. They're as real as I am, or were. They didn't make it all the way through to the last kingdom, and they died here for it. That is what's going to happen to me."

She didn't feel the tears, and her eyes were dry, but Sakura could have sworn she was crying.

Sai reached for her and she didn't pull away when his hand touched her shoulder. "You're not like them though. You're the first one to break the seal in nearly five hundred years, and you have something they never did."

"My imagination?" Sakura laughed, not bothering to hide her sarcasm.

Sai nodded in her direction. "Your imagination is certainly unique, but I was thinking of something a bit more…obvious, namely myself."

Sakura turned to see his face and tried to get a read of his expressions. "You. What do you mean?"

"I will help you."

Sakura remembered the way he helped her escape the gardens the first time she dreamt of them, how when her hands were turned to stone he had rushed forward to open the door for her and push her through. He had helped her plenty since then with advice and instruction, but hadn't the rest of that been his job?

"I thought you were my guide. You said you weren't supposed to help anyone."

"The eye no longer watches. It had closed and slept for many hundreds of years now. I will help you so long as it does not see me. You will be the one that reaches past the final night."

Sakura frowned and took a step back before turning and searching for the figurative eye Sai spoke of. It wasn't anywhere to be seen, as she expected, but the feeling of discomfort wouldn't leave her skin. The Marble Gardens wasn't the world where Sasori and Pein stalked around in hotrods and greased pompadours, but it felt no safer to her at all.

More rose petals drifted past her and she caught one before it could hit the ground and held it between her fingers as it began to wither. She focused her sight on the drying up petal and imagined it bleeding red again with vivid color. The petal not only returned to life in her hand, but grew into a whole flower before falling from her fingers on the tail of a subtle wind. Sakura watched it go, waiting for it to wither again but it never did.

"It's not too bad," she mumbled aloud.

Sai only looked confused.

Picking up a handful of her skirts, Sakura turned and left the gazebo for another turn about the gardens. As she walked, wild lilies of the valley grew. The Marble statues she passed were peppered with wounds of raw minerals like rose quartz, rainbow opal and black tourmaline. Veins of Agate ran through the bodies of others and the closer Sakura looked, the more transformed the bodies of marble became.

She didn't go back looking for Sai, and he didn't look for her. She felt him near her always, but always out of sight.

For two nights she walked those gardens.

The third time she fell into sleep, she was ready to reenter the world she left behind.

######  _ "You were so near death that ghosts crowded around you, weeping silver tears, waiting for you with such smiles. You humans, you know, whoever built you sewed irony into your sinews." _

######  _ ― Catherynne M. Valente, Deathless _

There was no one she recognized when she walked through, but there were boys waiting for her before she could reach the diner.

Three of them, two tall and one her own height without heels. None of them were wearing jackets, but all of them had matching arm bands that wrapped around their bicep with a snake logo. 

How original. 

Sakura could see their faces well enough, but she doubted they were actors since they were still somewhat fuzzy.

"Something I can help you boys with?" she drawled, feeling lazy and aggressive at the same time. 'Don't try it or I will snap you in two.'

"That's her, that's the girl I saw with Sasori. She's got to be his girl." The tall one whispered down to the short one.

"Called her his 'doll,'" the other kid said in a harshly loud whisper that wasn't meant to be overheard.

"Okay fellas, first of all, I am nobody's girl. Second of all, you're talking about me like I'm not even here and that's something I don't appreciate. You have a problem with me?"

The boy that had called her doll chuckled. "She's feisty too, must be his type."

"Yeah, now I officially don't like you," Sakura grumbled, stretching her fingers before curling every joint into a power filled fist. She had an inkling of who she wanted to pummel first.

"Whoa there, filly pretty," The one who called her feisty laughed, throwing up his hands in a sign of mock surrender. "Don't get so bent up about a compliment."

Sakura manifested a butterfly knife in the waistband of her skinny jeans and pulled it free with her non fisted hand, spinning it around her knuckles and over her fingers. Holding it up, she appreciated the sheen captured in its blade. "Trust me fellas, you haven't seen me bent up."

The shortest one was frowning, but the other two tall goons just laughed at her pretty little knife before pulling out their own. "That's a pretty trick, but we can play like that too. Why don't you put yours away and come with us for the evening? We don't bite, and it will save us all a lot of trouble if you don't put up some stupid fight."

She almost wanted to laugh; He sounded so ridiculous. "There are a lot of things that aren't happening, but that's really not happening."

The short one made an angry expression and sucked in the air over his teeth as his eyes went wide, but he hadn't been looking at her. Sakura pivoted just in time to see the crowbar arch down and send her back. It hadn't happened in slow motion like all dramatic sequences are supposed to, but all at once in a flash. One moment she was turned towards her attacker, the next she was falling under the weight of his swing.

She hit the grass hard and would have blacked out if that were possible. Being asleep and in a dream, she couldn't truly pass out, but her body forgot her and went dead to the world as her mind rattled trapped within her unmoving frame. She couldn't see or hear or feel anything.

The dream world around her blurred and bled with an over saturation of color. Poppies were blooming out of the eye sockets of the boys around her, their bodies were becoming trees that caught on fire and painted the skies white. There were swans too, seven of them, all black. One of the swans, the smallest with the broken wing, settled over her chest and vomited an ornate decorative egg studded in onyx and diamonds. The egg rolled down her chest and off her body before bursting open. A man made out of darkness emerged and leapt into the sky, shaking the stars free and sending them falling down to earth. Blazing comets soared past her and the galaxies opened up. She was lost, floating, drifting, falling.

Her hands were bound with rope, and her body was carried by hands too grubby to not be a boy's. She was deposited upon a couch and lay there, letting bees sidestep out from between her lips. They dropped raw honey on her tongue, but it tasted terrible. She heard their buzzing in her ear. They were angry she had stolen their honey and wanted her to know how upset she had made them.

A heavy bee rested in her hands and sat there until she woke up.

She really was tied up at the wrists and lying on a couch. The room around her was dirty and kept a mess from years of us use. If she had to guess, she would say it was an old abandoned house left alone for many years. There were trees growing into the room through windows without glass.

A figure sat in front of her, holding her hands. She blinked and the image settled into place without the spinning, falling stars or bleeding roses.

"Shino? Why…"

"Coincidence, I'm afraid." He released her hand and drew a rolled smoke from his coat pocket. "Lucky for you, I just so happened to be in the area on business when the lackeys brought you back."

"Business?"

Shino shook his head. "Don't ask questions, it will go better for you in the long run. I was making a transaction when the Rainmakers dragged you in. Boss man was pissed at them for jumping the gun and had them leave you here. I kept watch until you woke up just now."

"You've been watching me all this time." Sakura tried to sit up but it was hard with her wrists bound in heavy rope. Her ankles were bound too, but nothing else about her persons seemed to have been disturbed. She held out her hands to Shino, shaking them at his face. "Untie me, help me get out of these. Quick, before someone sees us"

Shino stared down at her hands and then lit his smoke, sliding back into the sun bleached chair positioned across from her. "No, that's more than what I'm willing to give. Because it doesn't interfere with my own personal interests I kept watch, but if I were to free you…"

Sakura caught on quickly enough. "It would be bad for business, right?"

He shrugged. "I don't dislike you. If things had been different, if I had known you in my youth, we might have been friends."

"But that's not how things are, and it's too late for things to change. I see the picture here," Sakura sighed.

Try as she might, she couldn't stay angry at Shino. She didn't like his business or the way he did things, but he had kept watch over her when it left him with nothing to gain. True, he hadn't lost anything by helping her. There was no loyalty on his part that obligated him to do anything for her.

And besides, it wasn't like she wouldn't be able to dream her way out of this mess. All she had to do was think of that butterfly blade. They wouldn't be able to get the drop on her twice in one night.

"Fine, you had better get out of here soon then. I don't plan on staying for long, with or without your help." Shino stood up to leave but stopped when Sakura grabbed a hold of his hands. "Oh and Shino…" He raised a single brow behind his glasses. "You might want to stay away from my friends for a while. Sasori especially."

"Yes, I remember well enough." The last time Shino had seen Sasori it had been when the red head ripped Sakura from their dance and made off with her. Shino nodded his head in her direction and slipped out through the doorway.

When Sakura strained to listen, she heard the voices downstairs, more than three of them. There was also movement, footsteps on a creaky staircase. A quick look out the window told her she was on the second story floor at least. The floorboards of the house groaned in protest as bodies moved across the wood surface. One of the boys cursed, and another kicked something that fell down and made a lot of noise.

Having heard enough, Sakura focused on the image of a knife and waited for it to appear before her. A moment later there was nothing. She felt panic take root in her heart, but she closed her eyes and tried to think of something else. She saw with her mind's eye a steak knife, and when she opened her eyes it was there, caught between her knees.

"That's better," she breathed aloud, running her rope over the blade until it frayed free. Her ankle bindings came soon after, one strand of fiber after the other.

"Oi, what do you think you're doing!"

Of course.

She dropped the knife and forgot about it the second it left her hands. Her fingers were curled and her fist was fast. He took one hit, staggered and seeing stars, and she followed up with a right hook. He spun on his heel and went down in a perfect imitation of Sakura's own falls over the years. When he went down he went down heavy and it echoed.

The voices downstairs stopped and soon she heard their steps. They were running for her and the only way out was the staircase they were streaming up. As much as she liked to think she was invincible in her own dreams, Sakura was running into some uncomfortable limitations that she hadn't been counting on earlier. Some things like, her butterfly knife wasn't showing up and she couldn't see all the punches being pulled. She wasn't god fast in the dreamworld, just faster than most. It would have to be enough.

She scrambled to the back of the room where the tree was growing into the room and kicked out what remained of the glass window. It was thin, but it looked like she could jump it and climb down the rest of the tree. Or at least that was what she was thinking until she saw the greasers running out to circle around the trunk, expecting her to run in exactly that way.

"Perfect," she said aloud.

"Really, I was thinking you might have wanted things to go a bit better than this," a voice said from behind her.

There were only two, but she heard a third running. It was the short kid from before, but next to him there was a boy with saffron eyes slit like a snake's. His hair was long and black, and his skin was ashen. Was he high, or terribly abused by the substances he consumed? She felt tiny in his presence. Even inhibited, she had a feeling he wasn't someone she wanted to mess with. Was it worth it to climb down?

The shorter guy started for her but Snake Eyes held out a hand, stopping him. Sakura dreamed up a pair of brass knuckles, but they wouldn't form under her fingers. All she had was her flesh and bones. She shook slightly, feeling excited and fearful of the nightmare developing around her.

Snake Eyes smirked, "I can see why he'd like a pretty thing like you. Personally, not my type, but who says I can't appreciate abstract art?"

He stalked towards her, swaying slightly with one shoulder popping up and then dropping dynamically with every step. His head lowered and she felt like she was staring down a tightly coiled spring with fangs ready to explode. He stopped a few steps from her and smirked so crooked she wondered how he fit all his mouth on his face at once.

He twitched and Sakura swung. It was wild and powerful, but he reached back and all she caught were the ends of his hair. She tried again with her opposite fist but he bobbed back the same as before. She wouldn't relent. One of the main benefits of fighting in a dream world was her inability to tire, running for hours wouldn't wind her and so this certainly wouldn't.

_ Left, right, up, elbow, right, left, down for the gut _ .

He dodged most of the time, but had to catch a few of her hits. She saw it on his face when she made contact with the back of his forearm before being thrown off. She could hurt. There was a flicker of something in his cobra eyes and she realized with a flare of triumph that he was intimidated. She wasn't slowing down like she should have been, and that threw him off.

She lashed out with the heel of her foot, crushing his toe. It set him off for hardly a second, but it was enough for Sakura to be able to swipe him across the face. She felt the blood on her knuckles but didn't stop to admire it as she tried to follow up with her elbow.

He caught her by the wrist and snapped at her with a force she hadn't expected for such a sickly looking man. She tumbled back but recovered quickly enough, when she looked up he was in front of her swiping. She was on the defensive, backing up and trying to get out of the way of his hits. She wasn't as fast and caught a pair in the jaw before a third left her breathless and hunched over his hand. She tasted copper but didn't falter. The world spun and she should have passed out, but the colors just dimmed in the world. She saw a field of peach trees and black swans out of the corner of her eyes and her hands looked to be made out of silver, but blinking once shook the swans free. Her silver hands were touched up with red: not hers.

Falling against the wall she slouched but kicked high, throwing him back. He retreated all the way to the opposite end of the room and nodded towards his goons. Both of them rushed at Sakura and neither stood a chance. She suffered another fist in the gut, but nothing worth going down for.

"What the hell are you?" he hissed, his voice low and evenly measured. He wasn't intimidated, she hadn't scared him, but he was annoyed. If this dragged on, she would end up back in ropes, she knew.

"Not worth it, I can tell you that much," she laughed.

"I'm starting to think that. Unfortunately, Sasori and I have a past I can not abide by."

"Let me guess," she breathed, "Anything that is a bother to old Red is a pleasure to you, huh?"

"Something like that."

Sakura lifted her hand to her face and felt the blood trickling over her teeth. She didn't want to think about what she would look like when she woke up. It wouldn't be this bad, but there would be questions. Maybe she could take up Roller Derby again and Karin wouldn't think twice about the injuries.

"What did Sasori do to piss you off so much?” Sakura spit a mouthful of blood onto the floor as one of the goons stirred by her feet. “I think my face is marred enough to piss Red off enough as it is. Thinking about cutting me some slack, square?"

"Back in the day before the kids all took to the streets, Sasori ran in a very different crowd, as did I." Snake eyes traced the bruise forming across his cheek. "Have you asked your dream boy about that?"

"Sasori ran with drug rings," Sakura said with a shrug. "So?"

Snake Eyes laughed. "And that doesn't twist you up? Good guy Pain maker and his band of crusading knights, glory, glory, hallelujah doing the bad don't get your skirts in a twist? You really are a claw, aren't you?" His laugh became a cackle.

Sakura felt her eye twitch in annoyance as heat flushed across her face and settled in the wounded areas. "Yeah, whatever. Call me what you will, but that doesn't change the fact that I'm not a part of his gang or messed up with any of this. I don't have a horse in the race here and frankly, I could care less if it was up to me. What Red does is his business, what I do is mine. Don't drag me into this."

"You really think that?" Snake Eyes nodded to the stairwell and Sakura heard it.

He came quietly with measured steps and bloodied knuckles. He wasn't bleeding though, she could tell that after a quick look over. His hands might have been a bit bruised, but the skin hadn't split; all that blood belonged to someone else. There were splatter stains across the front of his dirty white tee and forearms. Some stuck to his jeans, but it was harder to see that in the shadows as he passed onto the last landing.

Snake Eyes chuckled, chilling Sakura even more. She knew Sasori was here for her, she knew he wasn't a threat or a danger to her, but there was something so unbiasedly dangerous about him, like a force of nature, that demanded her fear. She had no reason to be afraid of him, but she was terrified while Snake Eyes just cackled in his corner like nothing mattered. She wondered if he understood his situation and had lost it, or if there was something she wasn't seeing.

"Speak of the devil and he shall cometh!" Snake Eyes hissed, sounding more like a serpent than a man as he stared through his bangs. She couldn't help but shiver.

Sasori glanced towards the boy with gold eyes before his hardened gaze drifted towards Sakura. She watched the darkness fade from his eyes as his pupils shrank and his irises burned. Everything about Sasori was tight and compact in fiery vengeance. He looked forever at her face and then down at her hands before moving his gaze back to Snake Eyes.

"Did you do that to Orochimaru?" he asked Sakura, looking directly at the discoloration the boy with gold eyes was trying to hide.

"Maybe," Sakura answered. "Why, wanna see if I can do it again?"

Sasori almost smiled, his face was still taunt. Orochimaru didn't appear concerned, but Sakura noticed the change in posture as Orochimaru went from casual standing to bent knees ready to spring and run. He was outnumbered, he had to know it.

"The two of you are a match made in heaven. Whoever would have dreamed there would be a lioness of such metal out there for you, Scorpion King?" Orochimaru laughed, nodding at Sasori.

"You can drop the suck up act, I'm not letting you leave here alive with all your bones, Orochimaru."

The boy with god eyes just laughed. "So haughty. As if you could ever stand on my level. Count yourself lucky and leave with the girl before she drops to her knees again." Something in Sasori's face twitched and Orochimaru could tell. "She's already blacked out once, and with those fresh new wounds and no food or water, I can't imagine she can stay standing long."

"That's it!" Sakura snapped, bending down and turning a goon over to reach inside and grab the knife he had never been able to draw. Sakura withdrew it with a flourish and brandished it with care. "I'm not going to let you talk about me like that."

"Ah, so you can still fight. What good will that do you when you can't even stand correctly." Orochimaru looked pointedly at her knees that trembled. Her dream body was having a hard time staying put together, even though her mind and actual body were fine.

"You bastard." It was hardly more than a whisper, but Sakura heard the insult meant for Snake Eyes. Sasori was livid. Orochimaru just chuckled.

With a jerk he raced for Sasori who was quick to react. The two collided and fists flew. Sasori was good, but he couldn't manage to catch the hectic rhythm of his opponent. A few blows connected, but Sasori was distracted when Orochimaru reached into his jacket to throw a knife at Sakura who ducked just in time. By the time Sasori looked back, his opponent had slithered out the window and was sliding down the tree trunk. Instead of pursuing him, the redhead ran towards Sakura and grabbed her by the shoulders.

"Are you okay?" He led her back to the couch where she woke up earlier and set her down.

"I'm fine, he missed me- hey, ow!" Sakura hissed in pain when Sasori prodded her jaw between his thumb and forefinger. Sakura slapped his hand away and he bowed his head in an unspoken apology.

"He hurt you."

Sakura shrugged. There was no use lying about it, the marks were easy enough to see. "Yeah, but I got him, too. I would have been fine."

His hands grasped her wrists and turned them over, showing off the red lines where the knots had rested against the insides of her arms. The frayed rope was nearby and she knew he noticed it. "How long have you been here? When did they…?" his words trailed off and he swallowed.

"Only a few hours. I was walking back and someone hit me from behind. When I woke up Shino was watching me, keeping the other guys away and stuff. He said I hadn't been out long."

"Was he the one that cut you free?"

"No…that was me. I didn't plan on waiting around for them to use me as bait or whatever. Hey, speaking of which, how did you find out about this place and me being here? I didn't think anyone would know."

Sasori huffed, muttering something that sounded like 'makes sense,' under his breath as she spoke. Her wrists were still in his hands when he answered. "There was a tip. I had been looking for you for days and you weren't showing up in any of the usual spots and no one I talked to said they had seen you, so I let people know that if they heard from you to let me know. Someone must have seen you being dragged off. This was a few hours ago, right?"

She nodded. Sasori swallowed again. "Ah, I see." He dropped her hands and backed up, turning around and running his hands over his face, stretching out the skin before nervously running his hands back through his hair, volumizing the pompadour even more. When he turned back to look at her, it was over his shoulder with his hands still in his hair.

"Was it me? You're mad at me aren't you? That's why you were avoiding me and that's what got you messed up in this."

Sakura opened her mouth to tell him differently, to lie and say she hadn't been avoiding him, but closed her mouth when she realized that wasn't what she wanted him to hear. "I don't hate you, but I didn't want to be around you for a while. That doesn't mean I dislike you."

"But you wanted to avoid me," he whispered into his shoulder.

Sakura could see the lines of his muscles throughout his back and arms. It was enticing, especially when they were strained in such a way as whenever he got stressed. Her fingers itched to touch, but she mentally smacked herself. He was a dream. He wasn't real! Things would have been different if she hadn't been dreaming and if this was all reality, but that wasn't the case.

"I don't…ugh, I got upset after the hop. Yeah, I was avoiding you, but it's not like you can blame me. You said stuff back then that I didn't want to hear and I thought I was being clear, that I wasn't leading you on or giving you false hope, but…"

"Is there something wrong with me?" He turned around and Sakura wished he hadn't. He was looking at her more intently, now.

"No, Sasori, there's nothing wrong with you."

"Then…" He swallowed. "Is there someone else? Another person you are interested in?"

"No. Why does there have to be another person? I'm not…it's not you, it's not someone else, it's me. I don't want anything like that right now. God knows I have enough shit to deal with, I couldn't even think about…a relationship while here." Sakura reached up and grabbed her head through her hair, lacing her fingers through her lackluster pink blond locks. Her head was starting to throb. "Don't treat me like this."

Something in her tone must have struck the red head since he knelt down in front of her and grabbed her hands before pressing them to his lips lowering his eyes. He breathed her in. "I'm sorry. I was…selfish. I won't press you again. You know how I feel, that will have to be enough for me. If things change for you in the future, know that these feelings of mine won't. Come to me when you're ready, if ever."

"Sasori…"

He shook his head and held up a finger. "I won't press you again. I may not be allowed to have you as mine, but you can't tell me I'm not allowed to feel like this. It is what it is. We...we should get you back and put some ice on that bruise."

The pressure behind Sakura's eyes ballooned up inside her skull and she protested when he tugged on her arms. She tried to shake her head, but that only made it feel worse so she turned her body away and pressed her face into the couch cushions, wanting to lie down.

She saw flashes of neon lights and mirror glad disco balls before another vision of poppies floating on the surface of a lake filled with mer-people. She didn't want to stand like this.

She felt his fingers in her hair, brushing it back and knew that he understood what she wanted. She heard him sigh and swore she could feel his breath before he leaned over her and slipped her into his arms. She rolled against his chest and tucked her head against his neck as he carried her down the groaning stars and out of the broken house. She smelled sandalwood and musk where his skin met her nose.

He carried her to his car and drove her back to town just as the sun was going down.

Sakura watched the clouds bleed gold around their edges before falling away. The golden light was still there, all around her, but this time it was from an actual sun.

She swallowed and turned over in her sheets and inhaled deeply. She could still smell sandalwood.

'Damn it.'

######  _"You will always fall in love, and it will always be like having your throat cut,_ _  
_ _just that fast."_

######  _ ― Catherynne M. Valente, Deathless _

She rubbed the concealer into her skin and smoothed it over with a wide angle brush that blended the cream into her skin until the discoloration was no longer noticeable. Already, being in front of the mirror with her makeup bag ready she decided it would be suspicious if Karin saw her wearing only concealer. Karin was smart enough to suspect these sorts of things.

Sakura dragged the brush across the rest of her face and hi-lighted key areas to make her skin glow. With liquid eyeliner, she traced the edge of her eyes and painted wings that made up for her lack of mascara. By the time she was done with it all, she looked like something to be proud of. It made her feel lighter and happy deep inside. It was a bother, so she didn't do it often, but she liked getting made up every now and then.

Feeling motivated, she picked out a nice dress and did her hair special, curling and pilling it half up on either side. While picking through her grandmother's jewelry box for an old pearl choker, her phone started singing something by Iggy Azalea, meaning it was Karin who was calling.

"Hello?"

Karin was grunting on the other end of the line, likely tangled up in some mess she didn't want to devote her full attention to. "Yo, you're picking me up today."

"I'm driving your broke ass around town again?" Sakura pretended she was upset. "What does that mean? Does Ami have plans for us? It can't be anywhere expensive because I'm broke."

"You're not broke."

"I'm broke in comparison to the girl who buys coffee in hotel lobbies and drops a hundred dollars for lunch on herself. Don't correct me."

There was more noise from on Karin's end of the line. The redhead cursed. "Just pick me up as soon as you can. I'll owe you gas money or whatever. The boys are working today and I don't want to stay indoors."

"Fine," Sakura picked out a pair of pumps and turned them over. "I'm still getting dressed because for some reason I wanted to look nice today. Spoiler alert, I look hella fierce, dress to compete."

Karin mumbled something under her breath and then hung up angrily. Sakura laughed, dropping her cell onto the bed and pulling out the shoes she wanted. Karin could complain about having to dress up, but Sakura knew Karin was just being melodramatic.

Sakura took one last look in the mirror and breathed deep. She was strong and she would look it.

Driving into town she parked behind the parlor and walked around to enter through the front, pushing up her sunglasses as she entered. The bell over the door rang and Juugo looked up from the counter he was cleaning. Behind him, Karin's father was pulling out a pair of pizzas and sliding them into boxes. Even mid morning there were orders to fill.

"Crazy people ordering pizza at such hours in the day. Hey," Sakura nodded at Juugo with a confident smile and winked quick, "How's it going?"

"Morning Sakura," he softly greeted.

Juugo was the stereotypical gentle giant, standing at six feet two inches with thick arms and a solid build that was more suited for football than pizza parlors. But considering his fragile self esteem and tender heart, he felt safer around his childhood friend Suigetsu and opted to follow the feisty Brooklyn blond wherever he would go, even if that meant working for the father of his longtime crush. It was no secret that Suigetsu had it bad for Karin, and Juugo was just sort of along for the ride. He cared for her too, in his own way, but it wasn't the attraction Suigetsu suffered from.

The shorter of the duo had been shot down and turned away more times than he could count, but the brave boy never seemed to give up. Sakura thought it was cute; Karin insisted it to be annoying.

"Where's Sui, he not working today?" Sakura asked, looking over the counter and into the back.

"He'll be in later. I just clocked in myself." Juugo gathered up the damp cloth he had been using to wipe down the counter with. "Why do you ask?"

Sakura shrugged. "Nah, it's just a shame. Karin said she would get all dressed up to go out with me."

Juugo smiled warmly. "You look very nice today, Sakura."

The green eyed girl smiled brightly, feeling her face tingle with glee and rushing blood. "Thank you, June. You're so sweet."

Juugo nodded, swallowing and looking down as his own face flushed. "So, where is it the two of you are going out to? Someplace fancy like the museum?"

Sakura shrugged, looking up the back staircase that led to the home portion of the building. "We don't know yet. We're meeting up with Ami, the rich bitch we probably told you about, and she said she wanted to take us out today. Ami's fancier than us, naturally, so we're going to try and meet her level of class."

Juugo chuckled. "You don't have to try so hard, Sakura."

"Now you're just going to make me blush. Okay, since Karin isn't coming down I'm going to go up and bring her down. Maybe she needs help matching her socks or something. Can you let me through?"

"Sure thing."

Always seeking to be helpful, Juugo lifted the counter up and let Sakura slip by and sneak up the stairs. He watched her go before returning to the damp cloth and semi cleaned countertops. From the back, he heard Karin's dad chuckle.

"Sir?" he hesitantly called, turning to look into the back room as Minato put another pizza in the brick oven. Karin's father looked up from his work with a sly grin.

"Don't pay me any mind, boy. Just an old man feeling young again."

Juugo didn't seem to understand, but not wanting to be a bother, he returned to his work without complaint and never brought up the incident again.

Sakura didn't bother with dresses much anymore. In skin tight skinny jeans and heels, she walked into Neptune's Diner, one foot in front of the other keeping her pace clipped and short. With her hands half tucked into her pockets, she casually meandered towards a back both with a clear view of the front counter.

"Waffles?" Konan asked with a laugh, noticing Sakura from the moment she walked in.

"Make that cinnamon french toast this time. Let's change it up," Sakura answered around a yawn.

Groaning she slid into the booth and buried her face in her hands. When she woke up in the dream world she had woken without concealer or the benefits of makeup. She tried to hide it by willing the bruises and breaks in her lips to disappear, but just like when she tried to summon the butterfly knife, she found herself incapable. For whatever reason, things were getting harder for her.

And where was Sai in all of this? She hadn't seen him since she left him in the gardens. She could have used him yesterday. But no, instead she had to take care of herself and end up looking like an extra on the set of Fight Club. Sakura picked up a silver napkin dispenser and turned it sideways to catch her reflection in the metal.

" _ Beautiful _ ," she muttered to herself. There was a bit of snap to her words and she was thankful no one overheard her.

"Girl what happened to you?" Konan asked, bringing a glass of water over before settling into the booth across from Sakura. "What did you get messed up in?"

"Some kid named Orochimaru? He and Sasori had a…history?"

Konan's eyes darted to a corner of the diner where two tables and a booth still had people at them. It was mid morning, too late for breakfast and too early for lunch. Still, there were ears that could overhear things.

Sakura sighed and stretched her legs out under the table and popped her back. The phantom feelings echoed throughout her dream body and she had a vague suspicion that her real body had stretched in a similar way in her real world bed.

Yawning and looking away from the dinner and out the window, she searched the streets for the beatnik Sai. She had more questions for him and she wanted answers pronto. Whenever she needed him before, and even when she didn't need him, Sai had been easy to find. But she had walked from the clock tower to the library to the green house before giving up and coming into the diner. Just when she was starting to warm up to him, the little brat decided it would be a good idea to hide.

Something that wasn't Sai, but equally somber in black, caught her attention as it turned onto the sidewalk and made for the Neptune Diner. Sakura turned to watch the door swing open and let Pein in. He smiled at Konan but frowned when the older woman glowered in his direction before jerking her chin at Sakura's booth. Sakura cursed under her breath when Pein looked over and saw her slouching.

She averted her eyes so she wouldn't have to watch him beeline for her booth sliding in easily enough and reaching across the table top to touch her face. She felt the whisper soft touch of his fingertips and jerked away, slapping at his hand before turning to glare. Her jade met his hurricane sky.

"Please," she breathed, rolling her eyes and abandoning her poor posture. "Don't think I'm anything less than capable just because I felt a few love taps. The other guy was worse."

"Who and when?"

His tone didn't leave a lot of room for debate, but Sakura didn't feel like talking all of a sudden. Tracing the edge of her cheek bone with her thumb she rested her head in her hand and glanced back out the window, willing Sai to appear. She didn't care if he brought the smoke along this time.

"Orochimaru, right?" Konan chirped, coming over with a plate of fluffy french toast and a container of hot maple syrup. Her eyes danced with mischief as her ruby lips spilled words of betrayal. "It's a day old at least, maybe more. You have to remember she heals fast, brother."

"Wow, did you poison the food as well?" Sakura laughed dryly as Konan set the food and silverware down. Sakura picked up the knife and pointed the handle at Konan, offering it up. "Here, you can have this back after stabbing me in the back with it."

Konan was all smiles. "Sorry sweets, blood is thicker than water and all that. Family first."

"That's not even an accurate quote, it's originally 'the blood of the sacrament is thicker than the water of the womb,' but I guess that's not true for some people." Sakura grabbed the syrup and doused her breakfast in it.

"Where did you learn that?" Pein asked in a soft voice. He was watching the syrup drain over her food in languid falls and stops. "The quote, I mean."

Sakura shrugged. "I read it somewhere." The correct answer was the internet and the accurate answer was tumblr, but she didn't think that was an answer worth sharing. "Why?"

"I also know of the quote's original intent. When I was away at university one of my professors explained it to us during lecture. I thought maybe you had also…that you might have attended in the past."

"I'm still in school," Sakura answered around a mouthful of food. "I'm on break."

"You got to university?" Pein seemed genuinely interested. "Where?"

"New York University. I'm studying Pharmaceutical Sciences…so like, drugs and stuff. The new semester begins in little over a month but I've already started studying for one of the classes so I can test out of most of the work up front. You sound surprised. What, didn't think someone who get's her face pounded in could cut it with the big boys at school?"

How common was it for women to go to college in the 1950's? Sakura remembered it wasn't as common as it was in her modern era, but she couldn't remember if it was a big deal.

"No, it makes sense. You're far too confident to be the type of girl that waits around at home until she's married," He almost smiled at the comment, "Did that never strike you as a possibility?"

Sakura had to keep herself from snorting-stifling a laugh instead. "No," she said before taking another forkful of her meal.

Konan came over with a cup for Pein and before he could refuse it she was already pouring dark coffee into his white and blue striped mug. Pein thanked his sister with a smile before turning back to glare at Sakura. "What did I say that was so funny?"

"Don't think about it too long," Sakura swallowed and licked her lips, tasting sweet sugar on her taste buds, "It's just not something anyone I know worries about. It's such an absurd notion. No, I'll get my education thank you and enjoy my single years for as long as they last. Like I said, don't think about it too long."

Pein leaned back into his seat, narrowing his eyes in her direction. "That doesn't make much sense. What are you doing here, then?"

"I told you, summer break."

"No, you told me why you're free, but why are you here and why are you, an educated woman, bruising her fists in petty gang fights when you have no obligation? You have a choice, and yet you're still here."

Sakura thought back to the flashback and remembered what Pein was before his brother fell ill. She let the fork full of food land back on her plate before wiping her hands in her napkin and looking the older man in the eye. "I'm going to sound like a broken record here, but don't think about it. There's no logic to any of it, trust me. I go where I please, or I try to as much as possible."

"What is it about this town that pleases you?"

"Honestly?" He nodded so she continued. "Conflict is the mother of all good stories. You're ripe with it here what with the other groups flipping out over your arrival. I have to be around that sort of energy. I didn't have much of a choice in the matter, same as a magnet to metal, this place called to me."

She left out the part about the world being a dream engineered by an ancient Egyptian curse and his conflict with the other gangs being just a program she had to survive through. It wasn't worth the effort to try and make Pein believe her, so she didn't bother.

"You don't sound too happy about it."

"Don't kid yourself, my face hurts."

A level of hesitancy left Pein and suddenly his eyes were hard again. "Ah, yes. Orochimaru, was it? Would you mind explaining to me how that encounter went?"

"I would, actually," Sakura bit, chewing into her breakfast. Her plate was still half filled.

"I thought you just said your face hurts. You don't seek recompense?"

"If and when I decide to pay that snake back for his troubles, it will be with my own efforts and my own pride."

Sakura didn't say anything more, but opted to eat the rest of her breakfast in silence without progressing the conversation. Pein seemed to take the hint, since he sipped his coffee and leaned back, content to watch her. He wasn't subtle with his gazes either. He left no room for doubt on her end that there was something else worth his attention. Sometimes his eyes would rove up and down, over and across her body, making her feel hyper sensitive to the air on her arm whenever the air conditioner sputtered on. Her skin tingled, but what was more her head buzzed with dizziness as his gazes made her feel weak. Her lungs weren't large enough to keep her keen and in the moment.

She was nearly finished when she finally had enough. Setting her fork down she shoved her plate away and crossed her arms over the table. "What?"

"What?" he echoed.

"You're staring and it's gotten crude. You think you can tone it down?"

Pein blinked and purposefully looked away. "Forgive me, I forget myself. I've been told I have an intimidating gaze and stare too often."

'You're not intimidating, you're creepy. Old men look at me like that, and perverts,' Sakura wanted to say, but bit her cheek. Sakura remembered having this conversation with a boy before, and it hadn't ended well.

"There are far more interesting things to see to justify such an extended fixation."

His chuckle was all dark velvet and hazelnut coffee. "That's easily debatable."

Sakura frowned at how easily attractive he was as a man. "Please don't have this conversation with me. I've heard it more than I care to hear it and I won't encourage any such behaviors."

"You really don't need to encourage anything. I've already heard of Sasori's advancements and he's voiced his intentions enough to make it all obvious. While I admire his determination I've begrudgingly found myself in a conflict of interest I swore I would never have. This time, this one time, I refuse to let that boy have his way."

He reached out and Sakura jerked her hands off the table, thinking he was reaching for her. He calmly took his cup of coffee and lifted it to his lips, his eyes never leaving her face. Smooth as ever, he replaced the cup in its saucer and smiled pleasantly when it fit within the grooves on the saucer.

"Don't," she warned with a word. 'Not you too, imaginary dream man without flaw. You're not real and you can't have real feelings and I refuse to be dragged into something so asinine.'

"I won't frighten you with unwelcome advances. Sasori is impatient as he is young; he doesn't know how to wait or make anything. That's not what you deserve." Pein's eyes flickered briefly outdoors through the gaps between blinds and Sakura caught his lips tighten. But as quickly as he looked away, he glanced back and like a hook threaded through the body of a lame animal, he held her there. "You're worthy of so much more," he breathed with a voice heavy and seedy.

Sakura felt an unwelcome heat take up residence all throughout her body. She was caught in those storm gray eyes and trapped in the hurricane around his pupils. The most violent of winds had ripped her voice from her and all she could manage was a grimace as she fought to pull herself free from his not-so-literal spell.

Sakura had never been that type of girl, the kind that went weak in the knees for a boy or a boy band or a band of boys who ran across camps in their swim trunks after a big race. She had never been the girl who wanted or needed a man, even when that was what all the other girls were going through in high-school. Asexual; without sexual desire, that's what they labeled her. That's what she believed until her heart started palpitating for this force of nature in the body of a man.

Sasori made her weak too, but in a different way. He set her off like a match to dry wood, making her burn. Pein just humbled her. It felt terribly sacrilegious, but there was too much awe for the man who managed maniacs like Sasori in spite of his own secret desires for escape.

It was new and it was terrible and it was exciting. She didn't know why, but her taste buds longed for this new adventure, an escapade into the terrors of the heart. In a dream, who was to know if she indulged just once? Who would judge her if she explored this brave new world with her lips and fingertips? She would never have so perfect an opportunity in the future, and God knows how many men were banging at her door begging for a chance. Once it got out that you weren't into the sex business, boys learned how to make themselves scarce fast.

It took all but a second for Sakura to generate a thousand and one thoughts and fears and filter through them until she came back to the moment and was forced to react when Pein finally reached across the table for her hand. Stiffly, she tried to pull away, but he took advantage of her dazed expression. She had no strength to utilize, lacking the motivation for it.

Pein pulled her hand towards his face and kissed her fingers at their base, brushing his jaw and lower lip across her palm when he breathed in. She could feel the texture of his skin and he tasted the scars streaked across her palms from the real life battles she had to live through.

"Don't," she breathed, but even to her eyes it lacked conviction.

Not needing to be told twice Pein lowered her hand and returned it to the table top. "I won't," he answered in his husky tenor. "I told you I wasn't like the boy, I won't force you to love me, but I'll make it easy. Know I'm willing and waiting whenever you're ready. I think there's a reason you were drawn here. Maybe it's not me, but who's to say it isn't fate?" he chuckled.

Pushing his empty cup aside, Pein stood and straightened the front of his shirt, pressing out the parts where the wrinkles were the worst. His eyes were fixated on the police cruisers that pulled up in front of the shop, never bothering to park correctly in their haste to be as efficient with their time as possible. The men that stood out on the sidewalk all looked similar, except for the forth one who didn't have any distinguishable features.

Pein chuckled dryly before reaching down to touch her shoulder and gain Sakura's attention. "It seems I've been chased out. You should meet with the rest of us at the dumping ground. Konan will tell you the way. Wear something you don't mind getting dirty. I'll see you in about an hour."

"Wait, I never agreed to…" she let her words trail off as Pein was slipping back behind the counter and into the back where deliveries were made through the wide open exit he utilized.

Sakura bit the inside of her cheek as the door to the front opened and four policemen walked in. Each took a seat at the stool and the two closest to Sakura's end shared a menu. They had pale complexions and dark features with jet black hair and just as dark eyes framed in mile long lashes. They both appeared to be the same age and possibly related. On the opposite end, there was a rookie with the same dark hair and eyes, while the middle aged male in between them sported the oddest hairstyle of them all. Split down the middle in a classic Cruella De Ville style, his hair was bleached white on one side and black on the other. While the three could be family, he was the only one that didn't look related.

Something clicked in Sakura's memory and she recognized the features that seemed so signature. The three related looking ones were probably Uchiha, same as Itachi and his cousin Shisui.

While all the details surrounding Pein's relationship with the Uchiha police, based off his reaction, she was willing to bet that the relationship wasn't worth writing home about. And since she looked like the bad end of a punching bag, she was willing to bet the police wouldn't ignore her like she wished they would.

Konan took their orders for them and was collecting their menus when she caught Sakura's eye. Nodding, the female finished with her duties before moving around the counter to collect Sakura's empty plate and Pein's abandoned coffee.

"Where's this dumping ground Pein wants to meet us all at?" Sakura whispered subtly under her breath.

"Just beyond the school. It was a popular place to play hooky at," Konan whispered the rest of the instructions as she pretended to be wiping the table down. Sakura thanked the older woman and got up to leave but Konan caught Sakura's elbow.

"Don't be too mad at me for what I pulled earlier. You're still a girl, and what's more, you're someone they decided to protect. I love my brother and I want to see him be happy, almost more than anything, I think he deserves that."

"I can't be that for him. He has to find happiness on his own," Sakura muttered under her breath, feeling like a horrible person for saying that to her face. But Konan just smiled and nodded before letting Sakura go.

Keeping her head down, Sakura slipped out and kept her head down all the way through her dream world until she was at the head of a trail leading into the golden woods where sunshine colored the leaves. Not caring how dirty she became, she followed the trail, tripping a few times at the uneven points in the earth. She followed the sunlight on the dirt path until she heard voices. The loudest of them was Deidara, no question about it.

'Not surprising.'

Then there was a muffled sound, and splashing and even more yelling from the rest of the boys and that was when Sakura pieced it together. Ducking low, she crept the rest of the way up the path and hid in the bushes when she got close enough to see the clearing. She had been imagining a dump heap of some sort or an old junk yard. What was a person supposed to expect when they heard the name 'dumping ground?' Watering hole wasn't the last thing on her mind, but it was pretty close.

Pein was a sneaky little bastard, inviting her over without telling her what it was. What sort of angle was he working by withholding such information? Did the others know? Were they all waiting for her to show up and be as shocked and surprised as they hoped her to be?

Sakura leaned in a bit closer and strained to hear more of their conversation. Apparently Deidara had cannon-balled into the hole and made a few of the guys upset on account of the huge waves.

"Don't act like you don't love it!" the blond laughed, swimming towards the shore so he could climb out and run up to the overlook and jump again.

"The whole point of a swimming hole is to swim in it, dumbass!" Hidan screamed, "Quit it already!"

Deidara laughed triumphantly before launching himself in the air again and repeating his cannon ball with minor improvements.

"That's it, Hidan, grab him!" Shisui yelled over the waves, "He can't pull a stunt like that if he's breathing bubbles."

"Boys, really?" Sasori asked with a hint of irritation. Sakura could almost hear him sigh, but that was probably her mind filling in the parts she couldn't hear with the habits she remembered him using in front of her. She was too far and too well hidden to hear a proper sigh, but she didn't doubt the likelihood of it happening.

There was a low chuckle that the water carried over to Sakura and she instantly recognized it as belonging to Pein. "Let them have their fun."

"They can have their fun without ruining mine."

"You never have any fun with that stick up your ass!" Deidara laughed, thrashing around in the water. Hidan grunted loudly and there was a 'whoosh' sound before it became relatively quiet.

"That's not true, is it?" Shisui asked, likely drawing close to Sasori, "I've seen this guy smile once or twice in my life, all none too long ago, you know. Something to do with a pretty pair of lips and eyes like, how did you say it? Like, green starlight."

Pein chuckled low again. There was more thrashing, and Sakura thought she heard a growl, but couldn't be sure over the sound of all the water thrashing and churning as Deidara surfaced and began wrestling with Hidan.

"Is there something funny I'm not getting?" Sasori asked in a voice so low Sakura almost didn't hear it.

Shisui sputtered between the two males and started to say something but Pein spoke up. "No, Shisui, it's fine." There was the sound of more splashing. "You don't have to pretend like you like me, Sasori. I understand well enough why the animosity exists."

"I never pretended to like you."

"True, but you're far more civil with me than you wish to be, aren't you?"

"I don't need this right now. Lay off me, college kid."

In the background, Sakura thought she heard Hidan curse as Deidara gained the upper hand and turned the tides of battle. Shisui left Pein and Sasori to go help a drowning Hidan. Wherever Itachi was, he was quiet and not involved with the chaos of his poetry.

"Don't look down on the educated boy, just because you were denied acceptance."

"It's for fucking losers," Sasori hissed, and Sakura felt the venom laced through every word.

"Sakura is a college woman, or didn't you know that?"

Sakura stiffened, hearing her name being dropped for the first time. She assumed they were talking about her earlier, but this was the first instance where she was addressed by name and directly implied. She dared move a breath closer, trying to see through the bush by laying down and seeing through the spaces between the thick parts and the thin parts.

She caught a glimpse of Itachi lounging on the edge of the watering hole, his head thrown back and face turned towards the sky. He was still wearing his aviators and his hair was tied up and knotted to keep it from getting in the way. Sakura swallowed when she noticed how much of his shirtless body was raised out of the water.

Sakura mentally shook her head to clear it of the delicious images and instead scanned the surface for Sasori and Pein. While Hidan, Shisui, and Deidara were out of sight behind the ledge, Red and their leader weren't. And like Itachi, neither was wearing a shirt.

'Daaaaamn, son.'

Pein's lips curled upwards at the corners with a secretive smile. "You didn't know, did you?" he asked Red. "She told me, though. She told me plenty of things, but that's beside the point. And it's not like she hasn't told you anything important about herself, right?"

"Shut up."

"Ah, did I hurt a nerve?"

Sasori reached out and grabbed Pein around the neck, but Pein slapped the hand away before it could crush his windpipe. Itachi noticed it, however, and got away from the edge to make his way over towards the two. Shisui had also disengaged and was swimming in between the pair to try and keep them apart.

"Hold it, boys!" Shisui laughed in an effort to diffuse the situation. "We're all here to have fun, right? This isn't something you want to waste your time on. Right, eh?" The last part had been directed at Sasori specifically.

"This isn't the sort of behavior you would want Sakura to see of you, is it?" Itachi asked, speaking up for the first time. Sasori looked away and Pein turned to look up at the path that led back into the woods where Sakura would come out. His eyes scanned briefly before flickering over towards Sasori who was still fuming.

Pein had wanted Sakura to see that. He had planned it, and timed it in accordance with what it would take her to find the watering hole and then a little extra. For whatever reason, he wanted her to see Sasori's violence, as if she hadn't seen it before.

"What were you saying about Sakura?" Deidara asked, sounding out of breath, "Tell me, tell me, yeah. Hey, oi, why aren't you guys looking at me. I wanna know too, eh."

"I thought the whole point of coming here today was to get away from the drama,” Hidan grumbled, splashing Deidara with a heavy wave that made the blond boy choke, "Not that I don't mind the beauty, hell knows she is sure easy on the eyes."

Shisui whistled in agreement. "Hella fine!"

Hidan laughed. "Yeah, and as much as a bother as she is, angel bless her heart, I wouldn't mind her here right now to see some of this."

Hidan raised his arms over his head and made a pose that showed off the well carved aspects of his boast worthy physique. Out of all the males, Hidan was probably the one with the most muscle on him. He was built like the classic americana circus strong man with a good six feet three inches of intimidation to show off. Someone like Deidara didn't stand much of a chance in a wrestling match, but Sakura suspected Hidan held back for the sake of the younger boy.

"Put those away!" Shisui laughed. "You're making Pein and the boys gag. You know real women are all over the big guy routine. She wants someone suave."

"You're taken, idiot," Itachi grumbled, shaking his head and pinching the skin between his eyes.

"Not anymore. Jessica and I broke up."

"When was this?" Itachi asked in the tone of voice that sounded like he really didn't want to be asking in the first place.

"Yesterday."

"Shisui, you were with her for _four_ days. Are you ever going to actually try with any of these relationships? Fairly soon, there will be no more women left for you to trick into going out with you."

"And plus," Deidara interjected, "One of us would kill you if you tried going after Sakura at this point. Pein and Sasori look like they want to kill you now just for joking about it, yeah."

"Also," Hidan interjected, "I would pummel you for even trying, because we all know how your girls end up. That's a little cold for someone who's bled for us. She's like a brother…with boobs…and a really nice ass. God, what I wouldn't do for a girl like that."

"Hidan," Pein chastised. "Language."

"Yeah, we don't talk about our friends that way," Deidara added.

"Our friends don't look like her," Hidan sassed back before pushing a heavy wave of water at Deidara who got swept up only to retaliate with a barrage of frantic waves generated by his flailing arms. Shisui joined in too, but Hidan wasn't easily bested once he actually started trying. "Down!" he roared before rushing the skinny blond and tackling Shisui in the way.

Itachi sighed and raised his wet hands to his face to cool it before wading back over to the shallow pocket where he could recline again. Pein and Sasori shared a look before both moved to opposite ends of the watering hole and did their own thing. Sasori swam in laps and Pein stretched out on his back, floating with his eyes closed.

It seemed like the perfect time for Sakura to walk in on them, but for some reason she felt terribly awkward about it. They had been talking about her. The things Hidan had said were things she never wanted him to know she overheard. It would be embarrassing for him, sure, but it would put her in a terribly awkward position even more. How long should she wait? Should she wait at all or just turn back?

Grumbling to herself Sakura scooted backwards and retraced her steps a bit, cleaning off the front of her shirt and making it look like she had just been walking up the path. Her cycle was almost over anyway. She would be waking up soon. It felt like forever and she was getting antsy. Agitation was a sign of restlessness on the other side, in the waking world. She didn't have a whole lot of time.

She kicked at the dirt and stepped over a few leaves while making her way up to the crest that overlooked the watering hole. Pein was the first to notice her, likely watching for her, but Itachi noticed her just as quick. Neither said anything until Deidara broke free and splashed face up against the surface of the water with a harsh smack. He winced, but noticed her standing up above him and quickly forgot the pain.

"It's Sakura!" he cried, half swimming half wadding over to the opposite side of the watering hole to climb out. Shisui and Hidan stopped splashing and looked up to see if it was true and stiffened when they saw her there. She couldn't help but smile because she knew the reason behind their reactions.

Sasori had his head down and was gliding through the waters, but when he came up for air he caught sight of her and sputtered, falling out of synch with his breast strokes in favor of clearing his mouth of pond water and wiping his eyes clean.

"Sakura," he breathed.

Deidara didn't wait for her to say anything, but launched himself at her and scooped her up into a spinning hug that made her squeal. When he put her down she lightly smacked him on the nose.

"Great, now I'm all wet, thank you very much. This is not what I was expecting when you told me you would be at the dump, Pein," Sakura said, padding down the wet spots on her shirt. It clung to her body now, showing off the curves of her breasts in a way she was sure Hidan hadn't missed.

"Wait, what are you doing here?" Sasori asked, climbing out of the hole to meet her. Deidara pouted at the company.

"Pein invited me." Sakura shrugged. "Police came into the diner so I couldn't stay there because of…" she let her voice trail off and looked away. Her loose hair brushed away from her face in the motion and Deidara caught a glimpse of it.

"Sakura, what happened to your face?" he asked in horror, reaching for her.

"What's wrong?" Hidan asked, sounding concerned. He was wading over just as well.

"It's nothing," Sakura commented, even as Deidara held her jaw between two fingers and turned it sideways. He moved back her loose hair with his free hand and traced it over the shell of her ear. He grimaced when he saw the long trailing bruises. "You should have seen the other guys."

"There were multiple assailants?" Deidara asked in a squeak of a voice, sounding frantic as his fingers trembled on her face. "You go away for a few days and you come back looking like this, what happened?"

Sakura waved her hands up and broke free of the hold, intending to shrug it off and keep her encounter with Snake Eyes a secret unto herself.

"It was Orochimaru," Sasori cut in. Sakura turned to glare at the redhead but Sasori just kept talking. "It was yesterday. Regardless of how you see it, he's targeting our own, now. Don't worry, he's been dealt with for the time being."

"Orochi was here, in our turf?" Hidan sounded pissed.

"He was in the gray zone. Nevertheless…" Sasori took a step closer to her and reached for her face as well. Sakura wanted to pull away, but she thought better of it and turned so he could see the bruises better. "He took on one of our own."

"When did I become one of your own?" Sakura asked.

"I don't know if you really were before, but this certainly solidifies the deal," Shisui laughed, nodding his chin at her face, "We should get you a leather in your number to wear when you ride with us."

"Are you being serious?" Sakura asked, raising a single quizzical brow.

"He attacked you without provocation, what's more, his men targeted you in advance. Why wouldn't we be serious?" Sasori asked.

Sakura made an exasperated sigh and shook her head. Pein stood just behind Deidara's shoulder and narrowed his eyes when he heard her sigh, taking issue with it, no doubt. "Something the matter?" he asked.

It was then that Sakura noticed she was the only one wearing clothing. Everyone else had nothing more than their boxers or swimming trunks to save their modesty. And as much as she tried to help it, it only took her a second to also notice that not one of the boys was out of shape or lacking in any way. Some were shapelier than others, but each and every one of them had a different and uniquely admirable body to boast of.

"You never told me it was a swimming hole, and you never told me you would be swimming," Sakura grumbled out, raising a hand to cover over her eyes, more so to keep them from thinking she was looking than to actually look. There was no way that mental image wasn't seared deep into her brain. "I should go I think."

"Oi, why are you covering your eyes? No one here is embarrassed," Hidan bellowed. He pushed Deidara aside so he could stand directly in front of Sakura. "Come on in, the water's great."

"I didn't come prepared for swimming."

"You don't need much." He took her wrists and a wicked grin spread across his face. Sakura felt her heart drop in her chest.

"Hidan, no, no, don't you dare- HIDAN!" she screamed as she was thrown up into the air and over the side of the cliff into the pool.

Sakura hit with a thundering boom and sank fast, missing the bottom. She felt the pop of bubbles all around her and a second later the water around her began to clear. She hadn't had time to take a breath, but she felt her lungs heavy with plenty of air. One of the few things she took exceptional pride in was her ability to hold her breath underwater. When she trained for it, she could clock a solid five minutes, but since high school the best she could manage was three to two and a half. With her poor breath, she figured she had maybe a minute, maybe more.

Kicking backwards Sakura swam lower until she hit the bottom and dug her hand into the pebbled bottom, looking for a hold to anchor her there. Those boys were going to pay for scaring her like that and getting her wet. Closing her eyes, she eased her heart rate down and thought of darkness and warmth.

It didn't take long for bodies to follow her in. With her lungs starting to pinch, Sakura pulled herself along the bottom and propelled her body to the opposite end of the pool where the water was shallow. For being a fishing hole, the water was relatively clear and easy to see through, but things that were at a distance were somewhat hard to make out. She didn't doubt they would find her, but she hoped to be out of reach by then.

Her feet bit dirt and she was stepping out, the water low enough around her that it didn't pass her shoulders. She stood and took a few steps before turning around to see the boys making a fuss in the water. Too many had jumped in at once and made a mess of things it was impossible to see. Only Itachi stood on the back, he saw her first.

She made a face and shrugged her shoulders, clearly not meaning to let any of them know herself that they were looking in vain. When Itachi didn't move, Sakura walked over to stand by them.

"Are they usually this hectic?"

"They have their moments," Itachi answered, "Just…not often."

Sakura nodded and waited a moment before replying, "So, do you think they're going to realize there's no body to find in that hole anytime soon?"

Itachi shrugged. "They keep finding each other, if that's important."

"It's not."

Without replying Itachi reached down and picked up a rock. With expert aim he let it fly the second Shisui surfaced. The older Uchiha cursed and held his head where the rock had hit him, but then his cursing ceased when he noticed Sakura. By this time Pein and Sasori had already surfaced as well.

"Hey, it's Sakura!" Shisui exclaimed. "How did you get up there, didn't Hidan throw you in?"

"Obviously," she dryly replied, "But I climbed out. Tell the others to quit looking…except Hidan, you can let him keep making a fool of himself if you want."

"Cruel woman," Itachi whispered under his breath.

Sakura rolled her eyes and reached up to pull her wet hair out of her face and up into a ponytail she couldn't tie back. "Oh please, like you wouldn't do the same thing. You know he deserves it."

"I meant it as a compliment. Here…" Itachi untied his own hair and passed the tie over to Sakura who used it to pull back her hair. Itachi smirked and in response Sakura scowled.

"How bad does it look?"

Itachi didn't answer, but he stood behind her and pulled her hair out before raking it back into a new tail with his fingertips. Once he was satisfied he used his tie to keep it all together. "Better."

Sakura reached up to feel it and it was smoother than before. "Thank you."

"Does that mean you'll go back into the water?" Itachi asked.

Sakura looked back to see Sasori, Pein, and Shisui waiting for her. Deidara and Hidan were still clueless. She bent down to pull off her shoes and tossed them over her shoulder along with her socks. Looking up at Itachi she grinned. "Eh, why not?"

* * *

_ "But I have been familiar with ruins too long to dislike desolation." _

_ Lord Byron, in a letter to Thomas Moore _

* * *

One, two, three, four weeks passed, and then the month was over. Summer started to adapt a nip once the sun set, and the humidity seemed to drown her breathing less and less every morning she got up early for work. Sakura had less than one month before classes officially opened up for her at NYU and Karin had taken to working more and more for her father. The two would often hang out with Ami every few days on account of Ami having no other friends to speak of and a desire to get out of the house and not be alone.

Sakura had a hard time remembering hating Ami, if she had hated Ami at all. It felt almost as stupid as hating Karin did. Not too long ago Ami had been on the list of people never to speak to for as long as the earth still stood. Now, they were spending every weekend driving throughout the city to photograph free trade shops meals for Ami's popular Instagram and anything else she felt like capturing on her camera and editing later.

Ami was amazingly talented with visuals. Photography, fashion, animation, you name it; she had a hand in it. She didn't know what she wanted to do with any of it as far as a career went, but no one was pressuring her and no one in her family seemed to care if she went to college or not.

Ami claimed it was because they liked playing the 'parents of an injured child sympathy' card. Whatever brought them more attention was worth it in the end. If she couldn't go off to med school, she would be the med patient.

"It's so much easier to act hurt than it is to actually try," Ami once explained as she paused to enable a filter on her phone before snapping a quick photo of her diner meal.

Sakura had managed to persuade Ami to hang out with her at the pizzeria where Karin worked until their redhead clocked out. Ami hadn't been happy about it, but Sakura knew it was better than hanging out at home. Sakura brought one of her smaller text books and a notepad with notes she could add to whenever she saw something.

"You're worrying about classes that haven't even started. I don't understand you nerd girl," Ami sighed, flipping through the pages of a fashion blog that was based out of Seattle and had a lot of helpful tips about dressing for the colder climates. Ami had legendary thin blood and could freeze after five minutes inside of an ice cream truck.

"I've been thinking about trying to get into med school." Sakura looked up from her book to see if Ami had moved. She hadn't. "Never mind."

Ami sighed, annoyed that Sakura thought she was ignoring her. "It's not that I'm not interested, but it's just more school that is going to put you neck deep in debt and won't promise you a job. Why risk it?"

"I didn't say I was for sure going…only that I was thinking about it. Financially it would be a nightmare, but I know I could do it." Sakura absently tapped the surface of the note pad with the tips of her nails. "I know I could do it."

Ami frowned. "Duh. Why do you think you need to prove it?"

"What?" Sakura blinked, focusing back on the dark haired girl in front of her. Ami's eyes were slack with lack of interest as she flipped through virtual page after virtual page. "That's what it sounded like."

Grumbling, Sakura stuck her notepad inside her text book and closed it as best she could with the oversized bookmark making that difficult. It wasn't any use to try and study any more when she was this fried out and surrounded by so much stimuli. There were people coming in and out and things being baked that smelled strongly of sauce of bread. 

"How much longer?" Sakura asked aloud, closing her eyes and not bothering to look at the clock mounted on the far wall that still told time with hands and roman numerals.

"Twelve minutes," Ami responded, never moving her eyes from the screen.

Sakura kicked her foot out and let it swing over the edge of the seat aimlessly. There were still scabs and bruises on her knees from something that happened in the dream world, but there were almost gone. However, whenever she bent at the knees, she remembered.

Sakura stood and walked over so she stood behind Ami and could look over the younger girl's shoulder. "What are you looking at?"

"Blogs…here, what do you think of her?" Ami asked, holding up her phone. Sakura held Ami's phone still and peered at the image stretched across the screen of a girl dressed in an olive green wiggle dress with red pin curls and redder lips.

"Vintage." Sakura handed the phone back. "What is that, 1950's stuff?"

"Guess how much that dress is going for?" When Sakura just shrugged, Ami scrolled down to the link that led to a site where the dress was being sold. It was several hundred dollars, making Sakura whistle low.

"Yeah, not in my price range, sorry."

Ami sagged in her site flipping back to the blog. "I love her stuff, and it's trending upwards now, but it's so dang expensive, constricting the viability of the trend. If it's not affordable, it won't stick with the general public."

"Most retailers don't sell pieces like this anymore. If they try to bring back the 50's in fashion, like I've seen them trying to, it's all slutted up with low cuts and inaccurate lengths. I liked her olive number, it was well fit, but modest enough to be something you could wear into work or the office. Classy."

"Something wrong with slutty?" Ami asked with a tone that was getting ready to call Sakura out on her hypocrisy.

"There is when that is the only option women are given, and when that is the standard all women are expected to meet in a patriarchal society. Modest or slut, that should be a choice each woman has the ability to make on her own without having to resort to custom boutiques online that are way out in terms of price."

Ami nodded absently. "I can see that, but you and Karin are really preachy about the ever present patriarchy and it's a little redundant."

"Just wait," Sakura laughed, "You'll see it on your own once you're aware of it. I remember thinking like that too."

"Is that why neither of you have boyfriends?"

"No," Sakura answered, making a face, "Can't speak for Karin, but I just have uncompromising standards and no interest in changing my single status." She didn't mention the handsome redhead that came to mind or the equally alluring auburn haired greaser boy. There would probably be nothing more embarrassing than admitting she was too caught up with the men in her dreams. Sakura shook her head to clear her mind and plastered on a smile. "What about yourself?"

Sakura didn't miss the way Ami's hands flinched and the scrolling stopped. A second later her fingers were working again. "No reason, just too busy figuring stuff out."

"Do you want to be in a relationship?"

Ami didn't move the pictures across the screen and the light dimmed with disuse. Sakura didn't have a good view of the girl's face before her head was bowed, but when Ami looked up nothing seemed off. 

"I guess that is one of the things I have to figure out, eh?"

Sakura didn't say anything but nodded, feeling like there was more to the conversation than what was being said. There was a weight to Ami's words that unsettled Sakura all throughout the day and into the night.

* * *

When she woke up in her dream, she was in the middle of the field under the stars on a checkered blanket.

"You're here first." Sasori said, coming down the hill with a blanket of his own.

Glancing down, Sakura saw that she was in plain jeans and a tee with a man's jacket around her shoulders. She couldn't remember who she had borrowed it from, but she liked the way it came up to cover the bottom half of her face when she zipped it up.

"Don't tell me…" Sakura paused to yawn, "This is our stargazing picnic cover for the stakeout what's-his-face had coming?"

Sasori chuckled and set his things down, "You sound tired. Did you fall asleep?"

"I just woke up," Sakura answered without lying, "Are we the only ones so far?"

Sasori looked at the space between them, mentally crossing it but physically staying still. "They're right behind me. Mind if I set up next to you?"

"Not in the least."

He set his things down beside her and lightly kicked her ribs to get her to roll over and make room for him. When she made a noise of complaint he just chuckled.

"Don't complain, you were cold."

"So?" Sakura pouted, still feeling blurry. She hadn't fully fallen into the dream and pieces of the landscape were blurring in and out of focus. The yawn in her throat forced its way out from behind her lips.

"So…" Sasori drawled, sliding an arm underneath her head and cradling it on his shoulder while folding the rest of her body into his side with his opposite hand. Sakura sucked in a breath, stunned at the sudden movement, but a pleasant heat built up around her and the world went not-so-hazy all around her. She could smell him and feel where his body dipped and peaked underneath his skin.

"You're pushing it," she said, but they both knew she wouldn't do anything more. She was too comfortable and he was too happy to let her go without a major tantrum. Tantrums at this hour were too much work, and secretly, she liked it.

How many other girls could say they were so lucky as to have a hot greaser boyfriend who was head and heels over the moon for her? On top of Sasori being one of the most delicious pieces of man candy Sakura had ever allowed herself to objectify, he treated her like a queen day and night and never stopped growing in his awe for her, and it wasn't the demeaning, sexist objectifying awe that Sakura had come to expect of men in this world and time period. No, he saw her go toe to toe with his foes and was right there at her back when she recovered from driving a brass knuckle into someone's face. He treated her as his equal in every respect, but there was a healthy fear he kept in his eyes when he looked at her.

"Why do you sometimes seem scared when you look at me?" She once asked him.

"I'm afraid you're a dream. I'm afraid that one day, I will wake up and you'll have been nothing but my sweetest midnight fantasy, or that you'll spirit away right in front of me, caught up by the clouds. I'm afraid you're not meant for this world, but more than that, I'm afraid you're not meant for me."

Then he kissed her full on the mouth and left her before she could push him away or tell him off for stealing a kiss like she had before. It had been a while since that conversation and not much had changed on the surface. Sakura still refused to date him or enter into a relationship, but she no longer minded as much when his hand brushed hers or when he sat too close in the booth and brushed his leg up against hers.

"What were you staring at?" he asked, whispering in her ear. His breath was flush on her skin and made her shiver.

"Stars…Orion's belt among other things."

Sasori made a suggestive sound under his breath. "Staring at another man's belt? Is there something wrong with mine, other than the fact that I'm wearing it?"

"Don't be a pervert."

Sasori rolled over so he was nearly on top of her, instead he pushed up with his hands so that he loomed above her, his face suspended above her own. When Sakura looked up his face was haloed by the celestial space and that almost made him fey like in her eyes, except…his was too primal in that moment. His eyes burned with something held back and Sakura saw how it begged to be set free, to be encouraged, to be stoked up like the furnace on an ancient iron horse. 

His voice was seedy and low, vibrating in her bones when he spoke. "You don't like it when I say things that make your heart race?"

Sakura moved to say something, parted her lips to rebuke him, but instead reached up to nip his mouth. He made a sound of part pleasure part pain before capturing her mouth in his own.

Sakura tasted warmth as if heat was an actual flavor. He devoured her, and it killed her that she loved it. She wanted it. She hungered for it, just as much as he did. When they parted for air, her lungs were burning and his eyes were fuzzy, but not because of the dream.

"Sakura," he whispered her name like a prayer.

He might have dipped back for more if the sky hadn't lit up with light just then as Deidara's neon yellow hot rod, affectionately nicknamed the Bee, crested the hill. Behind him was the sound of the others in their rides, though no one else bothered with headlights once they saw the edge of the hill. It was meant to be a stakeout, after all.

"That idiot," Sasori hissed, standing up and moving to retrace his way up the hill and punch out his friend's headlights if he had to.

With the loss of his body and mouth Sakura felt the sudden cold pass through her and dance around her exposed neck till goose flesh took her over. She was lucky Deidara showed up when he did, or else something she hadn't thought through might have happened. She had been caught up in the moment, that's all.

The lights at the top of the hill cut out and Sasori dragged a wrestling blond down just as Pein's car pulled up. Sakura didn't get up, but curled up like one of those roly poly pill bugs and rocked a bit before settling down with her nose pinched between her knees. She didn't want to see Sasori anymore with Deidara around.

"Hey, Sakura!" Deidara chirped before being smacked across the back of his head by Sasori. When Deidara turned and tried to smack the redhead back, Sasori easily caught the junior's hand.

"Did you forget the part about this being covert? What if you gave our position away?" Sasori hissed.

"Relax," Deidara bit. "No one is anywhere close to here and it's not dark enough yet."

"It's not getting any darker, you square," grumbled Sasori, "You're just late."

"What! You left the diner like, twelve minutes before me. How could I be late?"

"Cause you drive like a slug?"

"That's enough you two," Pein interrupted, coming down the hill with his hands stuffed part way into his pockets.

He stopped before he could reach them so he was still on an incline and above them. Pein looked them all over, but his eyes settled on Sakura. She looked up from her position on the blanket, shivering slightly and met his eyes. It was dark, so she couldn't see clearly, but judging by the way Sasori stiffened and moved to block Pein's view, Sakura guessed the older male had smirked or something, pissing Sasori off.

"Where are the others?" Sakura asked, still feeling like she wanted to yawn.

Pein nodded back towards the hill where he had parked and Sakura saw Hidan and Shisui coming down, followed by Itachi.

"Hn, took you long enough," Sasori sighed, rolling his eyes.

"You just got here," Sakura said, narrowing her eyes in his direction. Sasori refused to look her way, knowing she was right. She really wanted to say something like, 'why are you complaining?' but that would make the others talk and she didn't want that. Sakura rolled her eyes. "Whatever, did anyone bring food or something warm to drink? This grass is cold."

"But you're on a blanket," Deidara said, drawing closer to her side, "And you have a coat."

Sakura pulled her jacket tighter around her neck, missing Sasori's warmth. "I also have circular fat cells that don't isolate nearly as well as your own. Is that a no on the food?"

"We have coffee," Pein offered, nodding at the canisters Itachi carried in a woven sling bag. Sakura wasn't normally a coffee person, but dream cold felt an awful lot like waking cold and she didn't like it, so she reached out for a cup once everyone was settled in and passed around the canisters. She shared a lid with Deidara, even though Sasori had tried to stay beside her when the lid cups were passed around.

An hour passed and then another. Hushed whispers were the only conversation sparred for that night on the hill. Pein had a small pair of binoculars stashed in his back pocket he pulled out to scan the lower end of the hill every few minutes, waiting for Orochimaru to roll in with his men and make a drop off of drugs and drink not sold in town. It was a trademark of his business, good drugs and good booze.

Sakura found it ironic, since from what she heard of Orochimaru, he was a lightweight that abstained from drinking after he once got drunk and lost his girlfriend and his best friend and all his money all in the same night. Spoiler alert, they're not his girlfriend and best friend anymore. They're married and living somewhere in Florida.

"Still cold?" Sasori asked, nodded at her jacket clutched tight.

"I don't like sitting in the cold. I should be moving or something. How much longer?"

"Not long, this is the hour Shisui overheard them discussing," Itachi added before anyone could speak.

"Visual," Pein hissed, interrupting Sakura's train of thought as the group leaned in as one to better observe the drove of cars running up to the clearing.

The first few cars belonged to the kids who intended to deal the drugs and buy their cases off of Orochimaru. A few minutes that felt like hours later, the cars Sasori recognized as belonging to Snake Eyes rolled up.

"I see him, he's getting out now."

"Do we move?" Hidan asked, breathing heavy as his whole body seemed to twitch with excitement and eager anticipation. "Now?"

Pein made a face form behind the binoculars. "No, they're talking, I don't see the drugs."

Itachi reached over and tapped the side of Shisui's arm. His cousin nodded and the pair stood up to make for their car. The plan was to drive down the dirt path of the hill and pin the customers and dealers in and then fight it out once and for all, hopefully.

Hidan stood up and made for his car as well. Sakura could feel Deidara wanting to race to his Bee as well, but held back when he noticed how calm Sakura seemed. "Who are you riding with, Sakura?" he asked, his tone hopeful.

Both Pein and Sasori answered at once. "Me." Sasori glared and Pein curled his lip, knowing it came down to Sakura's decision.

"I actually drove my bike here."

"That's not recommended. There might be cover fire. A car would provide you with added protection," Pein interrupted.

Sakura should have dreamed up a hot rod or something, but she doubted her ability to solidify one when she was having troubles with knives and things she had previously dreamed up.

"Fine, Deidara," she turned to look the young blond over. He blushed under her stare. "Let me ride with you. Come on."

"Sure," he chirped, absolutely beaming that Sakura was his passenger. He was so pleased he didn't even notice the nasty looks Pein and Sasori were sending his way. Sakura noticed it though, and she chose to ignore it. They would have to learn to deal.

Climbing into the passengers' seat, Sakura closed the door behind her and readjusted her coat so that it didn't bunch up around her waist. Deidara slid in a minute later, still all smiles.

"Like it?" he asked in a near giddy tone that let a bit of his accent slip free. Sakura liked it when she heard his old voice full of british swagger and angry cobblestone roads.

"Better on the road than in the shop," Sakura admitted, watching as Pein made a signal and jogged to his car. All around them the roared and in a show of silent terror, descended down the dirt road without their headlights on. Halfway there the high beams came on and the criminals scattered in the headlights.

Deidara shifted into gear and started to follow, turning a hard left and descending down the naked hillside apart from the rest. Sakura couldn't help but let out a short scream as she was tossed up out of her seat and set to bouncing, Deidara screaming in delight all the way down like a maniac. A part of her realized this was probably why his car was in the shop so often.

The two groups coming together down below tried to scatter, but by the time they reached their cars Sasori or Hidan was already there, parked behind them. Pein was down first and jumping out and into the fray, followed by Shisui and Itachi. Deidara came close to a greaser under Orochimaru's control and Sakura recognized him by his gray white hair and glasses as one of the boys that kidnapped her so long ago. She only had a split second to recognize him before Deidara ran him down and knocked him back into the hair a good twenty feet. Sakura winced at the sight, but felt no remorse.

"Punk had it coming," Deidara laughed before swinging his keys out and nodded in Sakura's direction. "Ready to dance, bird?"

He was out before she could reply and she caught a flash of silver as his switchblade swung free from his pants' pocket. Sakura had one of her own waiting on her belt loop, digging into her hip bone and constantly reminding her of its presence. She saved it. When she rolled out she rolled out with her firsts swinging copper and brass right into mouths full of teeth and faces that would never look right no matter how much someone loved the poor sucker. She felt the tang of blood on her face as it sprayed the air. Oddly enough, she thought of pineapples as she drilled into the gut of another goon, about how they would make the inside of her mouth tingle because of the enzyme in them that breaks down meat. Their blood felt like that on her face, like it was eating her slowly without hope of actual consumption.

_ 'Just a little bite before I die.' _

Her fist went wild, and she recovered with a kick that did nothing but keep her opponent from taking advantage of her opening.

'Not today,' the monster inside her roared.

She had done this so many times before it was more than just second nature to her now. What human being doesn't secretly wish for superpowers or the strength to do what frail human bodies can not? With the world nearly subjected to her will, Sakura could be all she desired, and she desperately wanted to be the badass she never believed herself to be. Impervious to harm, empowered and impressive in stature, she was the wonder woman of her dreams.

With a wild roar her opponent caught her fist in his solar plexus and was thrown back just as far as the boy Deidara had hit with his car.

Catching her breath Sakura turned to see how the other boys were faring. Right away her eyes were drawn to the gray haired boy in glasses tangoing with Deidara. There was blood dripping down his lips and one of the lenses of his glasses was broken, but he was still moving, and moving well. He looked like one of the more skilled fighters of Orochimaru's harem of deranged greaser boys.

Hidan was taking two on at once, as was Pein. Itachi and Shisui were off, out of sight, and Sasori was dancing with Snake Eyes one on one. The way Hidan threw men over his shoulder was impressive. The way Pein calculated a thousand and one possible movements in a second for two men and exploited the handwork of his opponents before they themselves could make anything was also impressive, but the way Sasori moved opposite Orochimaru was a whole new level of impressive. The Morning Rovers were a relatively small gang, but they were the best of the best, quality over quantity. In most tassels they were outnumbered by never outmatched. It was rare to come across someone who actually possessed a challenge anymore. It had happened a few times, but in the end it was always the same, because the opponent always had a blurry face and was forgotten as soon as he was beat.

Snake Eyes wasn't like that. Orochimaru used to be one of the Morning Rovers and a partner of sorts to Sasori before Pein took over for this brother. Orochimaru was more than a match for Sasori. Sakura called him a kid, but Snake Eyes was older and more learned in the ways of the knife and knew it. He danced with skill and confidence, a deadly marriage divorced only by Sasori's equal skill with the sharp things of this world.

"Red," Sakura felt herself say out loud, even though there was no one around to hear her.

Watching Sasori dance with his death was one of the most dazzling and horrifyingly beautiful things Sakura had ever seen in her life. All it took was a moment, a slip, a misstep, and he was gone. But Sasori was the Scorpion, he was the Red Death, he was the fear and the fangs of the morning rovers no matter what management it was under.

Pein dealt with one of his opponents to the point of unconsciousness and threw the other at Hidan who bashed on the poor kid like the Hulk after a bee sting. Pein made a bee line for Sakura and she tensed, afraid of being scolded for watching and not fighting. But Pein never scolded her.

"Where are Itachi and Shisui?" he yelled over the sound of the chaos. One of the cars was going off as someone behind the wheel tried to get away but couldn't because of the blockage.

"I thought they were fighting with you guys? Didn't you send them off somewhere?"

"No," Pein sounded livid.

"There are a bunch of goons from the other gang, the buying guys, are missing. Maybe those two went to track them down."

"They shouldn't have, those low lives are easy fodder. Orochimaru is the one I needed their help with." Pein scanned his surroundings again and cursed when he couldn't find their car, "I need to find them. Are you good here?"

"Aside from Snake Eyes," Sakura nodded at Sasori and Orochimaru, "We have everything else under control. Go."

Pein almost grinned. He moved to leave but then thought twice about it since he turned on his heel to reach down and peck her cheek before running off into the darkness.

One of the boys Sakura had knocked out earlier was starting to come around so she kicked him in the back of the head again and he went right back to being limp. When she looked up she saw Deidara gasping in pain and holding a small knife wound that shouldn't have given him any bother. Only the cut was plump and raised. The skin around his cut was shiny and tight, like there were toxins underneath. Kabuto, the boy in glasses, was nearly dead on his feet and obviously pummeled, but he was grinning like the lottery was rigged.

Cursing, Sakura ran forward and dug her fist into the pale boy's face. Kabuto crumpled like a limp lamb at her feet, but she didn't pay him any mind. She was running towards Deidara with her bandana off and rolled up tight.

"Poison," Deidara hissed as she drew close.

Sakura nodded, recognizing the signs. She tied off the wound to slow it down and examined the shallow cut. It wasn't long, and thankfully it was closer to his wrist than his heart. Taking his hand in hers she pulled him forward and began to suck out the venom, tasking the copperhead as easily as any nightmare would allow. There were other snakes in his bloodstream too. Sakura tasted them all as they passed over her teeth and past her lips. Black Mamba, Cottonmouth, Adder, Viper, Taipan, and Cobra. Deidara was starting to shiver under her, but she held tight. Finally, the last of it passed into her mouth and she spit it free into the grass. Where the venom landed small grass snakes slithered away, typical of her dream world. Where was Sai when the really cool stuff happened.

"I still don't feel well," Deidara coughed. His skin was ashen and hot to the touch.

"You'll be sick, I couldn't get all of it, but I think you're safe," Sakura replied. Sit the rest of this out. I'll drive you back if I have to." Sakura grabbed Deidara and carried him over to his car but couldn't make it the rest of the way once he went limp. "Hidan, trade!"

Deidara tried to grab her with limp fingers saying something close to, 'no, I like you more.'

Without answering, Sakura turned and moved to take over for Hidan in the ass kicking department, only to find he was nearly finished. The boys he put down weren't getting up again, but that was by choice. They were still awake and able to move. When they saw Sakura coming for them they either flopped down and played dead or got up and tried to run, only to trip and fall lame in the grass.

Sakura looked back at Sasori, as he was the only one still fighting someone. The match was deadlocked. Neither side seemed to have an advantage, and neither side seemed to have a weakness easy enough to exploit. Sakura felt her heart hammer in worry. Sasori never took this long in fights. The last time he had encountered Orochimaru…it hadn't seemed so serious back then when she fought with Snake Eyes. No, this time was different.

Orochimaru was out to kill Sasori; those were deathblows. The saffron eyed bastard wanted to murder Sasori.

As suddenly as the realization dawned on her the knife slipped and the sky turned red and then black again. Deep, shredding, Orochimaru's knife buried and tore through Sasori's middle.

Blood, there was so much blood, and Sasori wasn't standing anymore.

He wasn't standing anymore.

He was down, in the grass, on his side, leaking red into the soil.

Sakura felt something inside her break. She was a China teacup with a fracture running up the side of her exterior. She was a window stuck by hard fists, spiderwebbed and shattered in place. Still together, but not in one piece.

His name fell from her lips and she ran to him, ignoring the way Orochimaru laughed and walked backwards into the brush where his car waited. She let him. He was nothing but an afterthought as she dropped down beside her red haired friend. He was coughing and the blood welled in his mouth as well.

"Oh god," Sakura sobbed, trying to put pressure on the wound and will it shut. She imagined it sealing up, of fusing back together, of mixing and cross weaving skin on skin, of blood rolling backwards into his sacred body, but none of that happened. The knife at her side, the one that dug into her hip bone, was gone as well.

"No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no this isn't happening!" she roared, feeling fear make her eyes wet, "Damn it, make it stop. Sai, someone, help me! Someone, help, he's dying. Someone! Sai!"

"Sakura."

She fell silent and became terribly attentive to his face as he tried to find her with his eyes. She knew the moment he did because the corner of his lips turned up. "Kiss me."

She didn't bother pretending she didn't want it, she kissed him and tasted all the poison concentrated in his blood from Orochimaru's better crafted poisons. There were other things in Sasori's blood too, flowers and scorpions, but they were his own invention and did him no harm.

She felt the exact moment he went, because his lips went slack and cold the way his lips never went slack when he wanted to kiss her. She sobbed into his mouth and pulled away, trailing blood from her chin and tears freshly poured.

This was all a dream but it felt too real.

This was all a dream.

This is just a dream.

Just a dream.

Just a dream.

A  _ dream _ .

Oh God, it's a nightmare.

* * *

_ "Here is a handful of shadow I have brought back to you: this decay, this hope, this mouthful of dirt, this poetry." _

_ Margaret Atwood, Mushrooms _

* * *

She thought she wouldn't be able to make it through the day, but somehow she managed. Visiting each and every client, the inner turmoil that ate away at her constantly never broke her composure.

She kept her body busy and her innermost spirit numb. Without rest or relief, her fingers toiled through the cleaning solution until they were red and raw from the diluted bleach. She should have noticed the stinging earlier, but the pain just didn't register, so she kept working.

One house after another, one client after another, one set of jobs after the last…

"Are you okay, sweetest?" one of the elderly asked her, smiling through her coke thick glasses with honest intentions for kindness. "You haven't said two more words than when you need to. You're too quiet for a pretty young thing your age. We worry sometimes, you know."

Somehow, the hours passed and somehow she made it back home and somehow it was night all over again.

She climbed into bed, reminding herself she didn't have a choice after contemplating any alternatives. Knowing what would be waiting for her and who wouldn't be there to greet her, she closed her eyes and pressed the back of her head into the pillows.

It didn't take long at all to fall.

* * *

"I do not tolerate a world emptied of you. I have tried. For a year I have called every black tree Marya Morevna; I have looked for your face in the patterns of the ice. In the dark, I have pored over the loss of you like pale gold."

― Catherynne M. Valente, Deathless

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For those of you reading it for the first time-I'm sorry. 
> 
> I was listening to Youngblood by 5SOS and if you've seen the music video you might understand a bit why that song just evokes a lot of powerful emotions for me.


	4. Electro Swing Dance Hall

She thought she wouldn't be able to make it through the day, but somehow she managed. Visiting each and every client, the inner turmoil that ate away at her constantly never broke her composure.

She kept her body busy and her innermost spirit numb. Without rest or relief, her fingers toiled through the cleaning solution until they were red and raw from the diluted bleach. She should have noticed the stinging earlier, but the pain just didn't register, so she kept working.

One house after another, one client after another, one set of jobs after the last…

"Are you okay, sweetest?" one of the elderly asked her, smiling through her coke thick glasses with honest intentions for kindness. "You haven't said two more words than when you need to. You're too quiet for a pretty young thing your age. We worry sometimes, you know."

Somehow, the hours passed and somehow she made it back home and somehow it was night all over again.

She climbed into bed, reminding herself she didn't have a choice after contemplating any alternatives. Knowing what would be waiting for her and who wouldn't be there to greet her, she closed her eyes and pressed the back of her head into the pillows.

It didn't take long at all to fall.

* * *

**_"I do not tolerate a world emptied of you. I have tried. For a year I have called every black tree Marya Morevna; I have looked for your face in the patterns of the ice. In the dark, I have pored over the loss of you like pale gold."_ **

**_― Catherynne M. Valente, Deathless_ **

* * *

When she opened her eyes she was in the back room of the dinner, standing with her back to the loading door. She turned and saw the cars of her friends parked haphazardly. The mud was still there. She hadn't been gone long. She looked down and saw she was wearing the same jacket from last night. When she rolled up her sleeves she saw her arms were bandaged.

There was a sound like an intake of breath and when Sakura looked up, Konan was there. From the look on her face, Sakura knew what to brace for.

"Oh baby," Konan breathed, rushing over to scoop Sakura up and squeeze her tight.

Suddenly it hurt all over again. All that dammed up grief was broken free once more as she was in the dream world with dream people and dream curses. Sakura choked on her sobs, not willing to let them leave her throat, but that only made them sound louder.

"He's not…" was all she could manage and that set Konan off on a whole new round of cooing and squeezing and patting down her hair. "This isn't real."

"I know you feel like that right now honey. Trust me we're all hurting."

"No…" Sakura gasped for breath again, "This can't be real. This is the dream. I can bring him back. I…he needs to come back, that wasn't supposed to happen."

Konan didn't say anything, but the pity on her face now included worry, "This isn't your fault. You weren't there after Pein got back, were you?"

Sakura shook her head. "I don't remember what happened after…"

"Itachi and Shisui betrayed us."

Sakura looked up suddenly, feeling the ice of two new daggers in her heart. Itachi, soft, elegant Itachi who chastised them all for being too loud and always saved the sugar for her when she made coffee at the bar? And Shisui, who was as bright and energetic as Naruto with no more maturity or sense of realistic exceptions for his future aspirations? Those two? No. That was not right.

"Why?"

"It's the contract Nagato had with the Uchiha. Shisui and Itachi were ordered by their…by Itachi's father. Without Nagato to hold the Uchiha to their oath, that old man has taken power again. They wouldn't have been able to help against Orochimaru, but still….oh baby."

Sakura hadn't believed it could get worse. She knew those boys. She knew all of them, and she loved all of them in a way only families forged by blood could understand. It didn't matter that they weren't real. They were real to her and lived within her heart no matter her waking or sleeping state.

Itachi and Shisui? There was no way they could betray the gang. That would be impossible for Shisui to keep quiet about, and Itachi's honor ran too deep and too close to his heart for him to be able to do this to people he dedicated his life to. Even if they fought and argued, there was a chin forged in blood that kept them all together.

'No, no, no, no oh no, no, no, no, no, no….'

Sakura felt dizzy and had to sit down. The world around her refused to stay still and in one piece.

This wasn't a dream, this was a nightmare. She didn't want it to go like this. Where were her superpowers now?

"Konan," Sakura called out from her spot on the floor. "Where did the others go? Where is Pein?"

"Hospital. Deidara came back with a hell of a fever, and they all got beat up some way or another. They won't be back till tonight so if you want to go see them-"

"I can't." Sakura swallowed and stood. "No, there is something I should do first. I…don't worry about me. I'll be back."

She didn't look back to see if Konan wanted to stop her, but kept on running straight for the library. She didn't wait to cross the street, but weaved through traffic, rounding moving cars as they screeched, swerved, and honked at her figure, but she didn't turn to look back or wave in apology.

There was a sickening clarity burning in her mind about her direction.

She took the steps two and three at a time, gasping when her foot slipped and she felt her whole body falter in movement. Recovering, she climbed the stairs two at a time, not trying for three at once until she was at the top, pushing the heavy glass doors back.

Empty.

It was as she expected. It made no sense for there to be a library in her dream, since reading was impossible while in a dream. Yet for some reason that rule didn't apply to these books. Sakura pulled one off the shelf and opened it up. She recognized a bit of an essay she wrote in tenth grade about The Great Gatsby and Daisy's woeful intelligence in spite of her vapid portrayal. She flipped through it some more and was able to pick up the words of a text conversation between herself and Karin from January. The English wasn't perfect, but it was legible. She could read.

Shelving the book, Sakura stormed the isles until she heard the sound of a dull thud. Moving with direction, she followed in the direction of the sound and found Sai standing in the center between two isles with a small pile of books scattered at his feet.

He looked up and his face was void of expression. Sakura approached him and stopped when she was close enough to reach out and grab the book in his hands. A quick glance told her it was a diary from some years ago that he was reading through. A small part of her felt violated for someone invading her privacy like that, but the majority of her being was upset with much more and didn't give a damn about her privacy at this point.

"Is this where you've been this whole time?" Sakura asked with a dry chuckle. "Reading a little girl's diary? You should have something better to do."

"I don't," Sai said with a fake smile. Ignoring her, he raised the book up and his eyes began to move back and forth across the page, devouring words.

With a frustrated growl, Sakura reached out and slapped the book out of his hands. It flew up into the air and landed with a dull thud on the floor beside his old books. They were all diaries.

"What do you want, dreamer?" Sai asked, his eyes expressionless and glassy as ever as he stared off behind her.

"Sasori is dead."

Sai blinked, but there wasn't a twitch of emotion more than that. "I know."

Sakura's laugh was short and dry. "You know? Oh, I'm sorry, how silly of me. Did you hear me when I called for you, when I begged you for help? Did you know that too?"

"I always heard you, but you didn't need my help and anything more than guidance is not within my capabilities as per my role. It was the natural way of things." The way snakes devour baby birds in their nests. Nature. The natural cycle of things.

"That's never stopped you before from helping me."

Sai sighed and shook his head, but still his face was as blank as ever. "Things are different now. You've angered evil and ancient things."

Sakura felt her anger coil like a snake in her gut before dissipating throughout her body until even her fingernails quivered with a controlled rage. She was finding rage to be a good feeling for her. There were deep wounds in her heart left by Sasori's death, and that made her feel horrible with grief. Anger washed out grief and left no room for any other painful emotion. It was easy to be angry when it felt this good.

"Don't give me that sort of mystic, over the top, nonsense," she seethed. "Bring him back, now."

"I can't."

"This is a dream, you can do whatever you want."

"You are sleeping, Sakura, but this is no dream, and Sasori was not a figment. He was an Actor. I can not bring back a player once he has been removed from the game. If you wish to see him again so badly, you will have to progress onto the next kingdom or gate."

Sakura felt the anger inside her dwindling and the corners of her soul remembered grief, frightening her back into a subtle rage. She didn't want to be sick to her stomach again. "You knew this…and you didn't help? Why the hell, Sai? Do you hate me so much?"

She took a step closer and reached out to grab his elbows. He flinched and looked down at where her fingers wrapped around his arms. His eyes widened a fraction and his jaw hung a little slack, but other than that she couldn't get a read on him as he refused to answer.

"Sai." He wouldn't look her in the eye.

Sakura swallowed the sickness creeping up her throat and let his arms go. "Fine, don't pretend to care. You don't ever have to help when I'm in trouble or dying. Just tell me where Orochimaru is now."

"What do you want with that man?" he looked up, his eyes meeting hers. Like little black mirrors, the glass of his eyes reflected an image of her staring him down with the anger of hell burning her up, inside and out.

"It should be obvious, ain't it? I'm going to kill that snake eyed bastard  _ if it's the last thing I do _ ."

She saw a shift in his eyes, but Sai never let loose an expression. "You won't be able to kill him. He'll destroy you in less than a minute."

His words rang with no truth in her ears. "Not when I'm like this. No one can slow me down, much less stop me when I have the world's grief feasting on my heart like a meal. I will find him, I will kill him, and no one else will ever have to die in my dreams."

"You will be in danger of destroying not only yourself, but all the others who act out in this kingdom." Sai tossed back onto the shelf the book he had just liberated seconds before. "You're the dreamer. If you die in this dream, the whole world dies as well, that means Pein and Konan and all the others. Naruto, Kakashi, and every last actor living in this kingdom will cease to be if you die."

"I won't let that happen. No one else is going to die on me."

Something cracked in Sai's appearance, something bitter filtered into his features as he turned away from her to adjust the shelves into proper standing. "You care too much for the actors. If it's because you think they care for you in return you're misguided in your thinking." He turned to glare at her over his shoulder and Sakura was a bit taken aback by the unfiltered emotion, "They are only drawn to you because you are the dreamer. Regardless of whoever breaks the seal, they would have been magnetized to you like opposite poles, as has always been the case. You can't let their loss move you. It's irrational, calm yourself and move on with your search for the obelisk."

The last thing a smart man does is tell an emotional woman to calm down, especially after a legitimately emotional trauma. Regardless of if Sasori was real or not, he was as real to her as anyone else she knew or interacted with. Considering how emotionally attached she could grow to fictional characters in novels and TV series, it wasn't irrational at all for her to be this moved by Sasori's loss. It hurt. She was in pain, and the pain feasting on her heart demanded her attention.

Sai's words were like oil on an already roaring fire. Moving faster than before she lashed out and grabbed Sai by the collar of his turtleneck and lifted him up off the ground, slamming his back against the bookshelves so hard the wood rattled.

"Tell me where he is, you little shit!"

Sai struggled and kicked so Sakura slammed him against the books again. A few fell around them and landed on bended pages. His words were guttural sounding. "He'll kill you!"

"Tell me where he is!"

She was about to shake him up a third time when a deep chuckled made her stop. Turning to look behind her she saw the boy with gray hair and glasses from the fight before. 

_ Kabuto _ . 

Sakura dropped Sai into a heap and turned to give the new arrival her full attention. The boy's grin spread wide across his face and Sakura saw the bruises around his mouth and the cuts through his lips stand out.

"Sakura." He greeted her with an incline of his head.

"He hit you with a car and you're still standing. Should I be impressed or just pissed off?"

"It's nice to see you too. If you wanted to find us all you had to do was ask. Orochimaru has been looking for you himself. I'm sure he'd be honored by the invitation." Kabuto reached into the breast pocket of his plain white tee and pulled free a business card. With a simple flick of his wrist he sent it flying through the air. Sai made an effort to catch it, but Sakura was faster, pinching it between her fingers before Sai could move his hand. She flipped it over and read quickly.

"Neptune's Electro Swing Dance Hall? How is this related to the diner?"

"Not yet, but it will be. My boss likes to plan things in advance. Come whenever you're free, and make sure you wear something nice. The address is printed on the back." She flipped it over and sure enough there were words forming an address. When she looked up again Kabuto was gone.

"I'm going to kill him next." Sakura folded the card over her fingers and dropped it into the breast pocket of her shirt before heading out towards the center of the library where a huge map of the town and surrounding areas was located under glass. There was a commotion behind her and when she glanced back to see what it was, Sai was getting up and kicking discarded novels in his effort to follow her.

"Sakura, don't go there, it's a trap. He's going to kill you."

"Leave me alone, Sai. If you're not going to help then bug off." The map was easy to find and it wouldn't take long to find the dance hall Kabuto told her about.

Sai slammed his hand down flat onto the glass surface and a spider web of slivers ran out from the impact of breaking the glass. Sakura glared at him, but he was even with his expressions once again, even if his hand was bleeding a bit.

"He will kill you. In this kingdom, he is what is known as the dream killer. His whole purpose for being here is to destroy the dreamer and put an end to the threat of someone actually advancing to the last kingdom. Sasori was only a means to an end. His real target is you."

"If that's true, it won't be long before he starts targeting the rest of my friends in an effort to get to me." Sakura swallowed and looked back at the map. "Look, Sai….I don't know what your angle is in all of this, if you're my ally or if you're an impartial figure, or if you're trying to deceive me or whatever, but I know something about games. I've played them enough to know every major level has a boss you need to defeat before moving on. You can try and avoid them, but in order to make any progress you have to face your monsters. Orochimaru isn't going away. If I don't deal with him now, he'll deal with me on his own time. He kidnapped me once before, I don't doubt he has the ability to do so again. If you're not going to help me, then fine, have it your way, but don't think you can stop this fight from happening forever. Sooner or later, one of us will have to give."

He was quiet for a moment, letting Sakura turn away and look over the map again, searching for the road that led out of the town and close to an area in development. His swing hall was in the center, surrounded by newly finished lonely roads and skeletons of soon to be buildings.

"Nagato was the only one Orochimaru feared, and he was the only one that could keep Orochimaru controlled, though Sasori often thought he could at times."

"That's great, but Nagato isn't here. He's sick and somewhere dying, for all the good that does. He's been hospitalized for almost three months now."

"Do you know with what?"

"A cancer of some sort?"

Sai looked back to the map, his eyes focused on a small collection of buildings in a hyper developed corner with thick highways. "Awfully convenient that a healthy twenty four year old suddenly develops whatever it is the doctors are treating with no luck and has to move away. Think of who benefits."

"Orochimaru, more than anyone." Sakura pulled away from the map and crossed her arms over her chest. "That would make sense if Orochimaru did something. He's been known to coat his weapons in snake venom. But doctors should have seen through that by now. Snake venom doesn't put you in a coma for so long."

"I can't say anything more."

Sakura blinked and looked away from Sai. She wanted to curse him out or throttle him or something, but her anger wouldn't turn towards him. Whatever his angle was, he didn't seem to want to have her killed. If anything, he wanted to keep her from advancing and surviving.

"Fine, I can't do anything about that now. I have to get going if I want to do all of this in one night. I've already spent enough time tracking Snake Eyes down."

She turned and began walking the exit but paused when she heard Sai call out to her. She didn't turn, but was able to hear Sai without any issue.

"Sakura… be careful. Don't die. Get out of there if it goes south, promise me that."

Without answering, Sakura turned and left, the simple nod of her head being the only thing that kept Sai from chasing after her.

With the route and location already memorized, Sakura made a beeline for the road where a cherry red motorcycle waited with gold and onyx decal. Morning Rovers was painted in fancy cursive down the sides of the fuel tank.

Mounting her bike, she kicked back the kickstand with her heel and revved the engine. Teasing the throttle, she angled her front end and let out the gas. She didn't stop for lights, she didn't yield to passing traffic, and she didn't abide by slow moving vehicles in front or behind her. The wind bit and whipped all around her, but the motor goggles kept her tears from impairing her vision. Her lips grey dry and chapped by the time she pulled off the main road and onto the side street that was being widened to accommodate the traffic to come. Dust rose up behind her like an angry, whipping tail.

Neptune's Electro Swing Dance Hall blazed through the darkness in bright neon lights of blue, green, and white. A mermaid was painted and outlined in lights waving right beside the sign. It was styled painfully similar to the Neptune Diner, and Sakura could only take that as a sign that Orochimaru intended to incorporate the latter into his control.

He was posturing.

Sakura slid into an empty parking slot right outside and parked sideways, letting her bike fall against the kickstand before dismounting and peeling off her goggles. She was a dusty mess in ripped jeans and faded leather, but by the time she reached the front doors, all of that was gone, replaced with something much nicer.

Her pearl white heels clicked neatly when making contact with the smooth wooden floor. Her dress was shorter than most for the time period, reaching just above her knees and filled out with a layer of silver white tool that caught the light like starlight when she sashayed. Her dress was a deep aqua with a low cut sweetheart neckline that hugged her curves like a sin. A weight around her neck told her she wore a collar of pears and the coolness on her earlobes were no doubt matching studs. Her hair was up and wrapped tight in a victory roll held in place by mother-of-pearl pins. A tornado wouldn't set a strand out of place.

She stepped through a separate pair of doors and crossed the dance floor to where Orochimaru stood, leaning over a crate full of records. Behind him by the DJ booth sat Itachi and Shisui. They had the decency to look ashamed when she caught their eyes, but not before blushing madly.

"Damn," Orochimaru chuckled, tossing his records down to circle her like a predator. He whistled at her low back and held her eyes when he came back around. "Aren't you just a dish. You came all dressed up to see me? I'm flattered."

"Kabuto said something nice. You think I'd disappoint?"

"I hoped not, but I can't say I expected such a dessert. You're not here to take me to church dressed like that, are you?" He took a step towards her. "A sinner like me just might reconsider."

Sakura felt hellfire surge within her veins. Sinner, oh yes. That was too simple a way to put it.

"You killed Sasori." Her voice was as cold as her anger was hot. It was enough to make even Itachi and Shisui exchange looks.

"Business. It's all necessary to take control. I needed to show my potential backers," he swept his hand back to show off the two Uchiha boys. "Just who was the best horse in this race, you see. Your best fighter had to go. You understand."

Sakura tasted snakes in her mouth and remembered the way Sasori died on her lips. The scorpions in his blood stirred one last time and fell away, beyond the reach of her pale arms. She swallowed the taste and breathed hell fumes. Sasori's last words rose up, demanding to be remembered.

She breathed. Inhale. Exhale.

"No, I don't." Her eyes found his.

_ 'Kiss me.' _

He moved a nanosecond slower than her, but it was enough to catch her blade between with his own and stop her swing. He chuckled through a shaky exhale.

"You sure you want to dance here, sweetness?" Somewhere in the background she heard a needle fall onto a record and scratch out the electric swing melody.

_ 'Kiss me. _ '

She was the strongest woman in the world when she threw him off and spun into her next attack. Parry after parry, they met and engaged and metal bit into metal. She swung high, he swung low, and both seemed to meet with dangerous precession.

While Orochimaru was obviously more skilled in the art of the knife, Sakura was faster and unpredictable. In his last fight Snake Eyes knew his opponent's style intimately. With Sakura, she was a mystery without pattern, and she was angry. Most dangerous of all, as long as she dreamed, she didn't grow tired.

They danced for so long, through song after song, and soon she caught the way he shoulder dropped with each parry. He was tiring. Taking advantage of it, Sakura slid her knife along the edge of his and threw her whole weight into it, throwing him off and nicking him across the face.

It was an ugly cut, stretching from his top lip to his ear and bleeding heavy on his cheek. It would scar, and he would never forget her for it. If only her knife had been poisoned, then that would have been enough to end it all.

His saffron yellow eyes flashed with fury and he attempted to reap revenge on his injury, but Sakura was faster and she had seen this move before. She tore into the back of his wrist and up his arm, through his shirt. It was long, but shallow and likely wouldn't slow him down much.

There was a third opening and Sakura stepped towards it, her pearl colored heels shuffling forward right into the point of a second knife. His metal separated her flesh like lightning and she reacted instantly, growing the size her his switchblade into a machete and chopping off the hand that held the knife he buried in her abdomen.

' _ Kiss me _ .'

He howled like something unholy and fell away from her, clutching the stump where his hand used to be. Blood pooled all around him, and Sakura knew he would never be the threat he once was.

Sakura stumbled backwards, holding onto the knife still stuck inside of her. Orochimaru's disembodied hand still clung to the hilt and she held it there. It would be her trophy. For whatever reason, this knife wasn't coated in venom. Either that or the venom didn't work on her. She had a suspicion it was the latter.

The room spun around her but she could still see Snake Eyes make for the back door exit, carried at the arm by his lackey Kabuto. Neither Itachi or Shisui moved to follow him out. Breathing heavy she held onto her wound and glared over at them. Shisui was the one that ran towards her first, with Itachi following close behind.

"Sakura, oh God damn it, look at you," he whimpered as Itachi reached the pair. "You're bleeding a lot."

He offered her a bandana from his back pocket and she took it, but didn't stop glaring or say thank you like she would have two nights ago.

"Funny, you sound like you care," she sneered, hearing the dip in her voice that usually came with drinking.

"Don't judge us too harshly." Itachi intoned, meeting her eyes without sham,. "We did what we thought was best for our family. Our clan comes first. The Morning Rovers were not a threat without Nagato."

"Take your excuses and suck 'em, Itachi," Sakura breathed, "I don't give a damn. You betrayed us. You turned your back on all of us and spat on our friendship. We trusted you." She squeezed her eyes shut, trying to fight back the pain that was growing as her adrenaline wore off. "I don't want to ever see you again. I don't care if you come begging back to Pein, don't ever show your face in front of me." She paused to take another breath, because they were getting harder and heavier.

"Sakura," Shisui tried to say.

"He's dead!" she shouted. The room was spinning and she wondered if she really was poisoned or if this was what it felt like to bleed out. She took a step back and glared at them through her lowered lashes. "He's dead," she repeated in a softer voice, "And nothing you say or do can bring him back."

She stumbled backwards, feeling gravity pull her harder than before, and turned on her heel to head out the way she came. 

No one followed.

Outside the stars were already out and she was so close to the end of her dream. She gasped, feeling the pain grow. Dropping Orochimaru's hand into a pocket, she wiped at the wound and tried to get a view of its location and severity while leaning against the wall, no longer able to stand. It was small, and it didn't look bad, but she had no doubt that it would be enough to seriously impair her once she woke up.

Once she woke up.

Damn it!

She had completely forgotten about what it would be like to wake up with an injury. Damn it, damn it, damn it. This wasn't good, this was….this was bad she realized with a gasp and the beginnings of tears. She felt her face grow wet and squeezed her eyes in an attempt to stop the tears.

"Sakura!"

When she opened her eyes again she saw Sai running towards her. She began to slide down the side of the outer wall and he caught her before she could hit the ground. She could hear him cursing.

"That bad?"

"I'm taking you to the hospital and deepening the level of the dream. You won't stay asleep longer, but it will seem longer. A second in the waking word will be an hour here. Maybe that will give us enough time to…" his words trailed off as he lifted her and carried her bridal style to a sleek black ride she couldn't identify. He strapped her in and slid in behind the wheel, biting gravel as he sped out of the unfinished parking lot.

They were back on the road when Sakura opened her eyes again. "Which hospital?"

"The one closest to here of course."

"No," Sakura coughed. Sai cursed again. "Take me to the one where they are keeping Nagato, take me there."

"Why, that's another hour out of the way?"

Sakura felt tired but kept her eyes open. "You said if I found the obelisk, this kingdom, this level would be over right?" When he nodded she continued. "And so if I beat this level, I'll advance onto the next level and this wound will disappear, right?"

"Traditionally, yes."

Sakura sighed a satisfied breath. "Good, I think I know how to beat this thing. Drive faster, the faster the better."

Sai didn't need to be told twice. The world around her was already hazy from blood loss, but it grew even more blurred outside her window with Sai behind the wheel. She watched him as he drove, studying the way his pale, perfect face broke out in expression as he struggled to keep his emotions in check. He tried so hard to keep an impartial appearance, it was rare to see him show anything on his face. But he looked worried. 

Worried for her.

"Sai." It was twenty minutes later and silence had been the only thing spoken between them.

"Yeah?" he didn't take his eyes off the road to answer her.

"Thanks."

He glanced back down at her and then back to the road. "Don't fall asleep. You can't sleep in the dream world."

Sakura thought back to when she had been knocked out by Orochimaru's cronies. She had been awake in a sense, but immobile and seeing crazy things. Black swans, Russian Faberge eggs, poppies and other wisps of the imaginary. She didn't dare look too closely out her window, in fear of seeing more burning trees and men made out of darkness.

"What were you doing in the library?" she asked.

"Don't ask too many questions, you sound labored."

"You're avoiding the question." Sakura risked a quick peek outside and exhaled when she didn't see any burning trees, "And my breathing is fine."

Sai did not appear convinced. "We're almost there. Just hang on a little longer."

"Tell me what you were doing in the library. It will help keep me awake." When a long silence passed between them Sakura re adjusted herself in her seat, wincing a little bit before adding a softer, 'please,' for good measure.

"Do you remember when I last told you it had been about five hundred years since the last dreamer broke the seal and entered into this curse?"

She nodded.

"All that a dreamer has written is recorded in the libraries, and all the dreamer has read is recorded in the lesser libraries. You are young, so I did not expect much. However, the times have changed a great deal if what I have read is any indication. The last dreamer was near illiterate, and many that came before him were likewise dumb or poor in learning. It has been a long time since I had anything new to read, and a very long time since I read the writings of a dreamer. There was a boy a long time ago who kept a log of his journeys and a diary as he explored with his father and company. He was my favorite dreamer by far. I read his words and understood him more intimately than any other. When he died, it was the first time I ever experienced anguish. All his works were lost at once, and I was alone for another fifty years before the curse consumed another."

"You were reading my diary."

"I was."

Sakura groaned, still feeling a pinch whenever she breathed. "That's kind of personal. That wasn't meant for you to see, or anyone for that matter."

"But it's what convinced me to help you." He glanced over at her slumped in her seat and quickly averted his eyes back to the road. "I decided to keep you alive so that I could read your works and…know you better."

"You could have just asked to be my friend to get to know me." There were lights outside and Sakura was afraid that it meant she was seeing things, seeing falling stars, but they were city lights. They were finally in the city where Nagato's hospital was located.

"I have no such social skills. If it were not for your books, I would have never approached you to begin with. That is my own curse."

Sakura nodded, pretending she understood when she really didn't. 

S he felt dirty and sticky and the blood that wasn't still wet and dripping was drying into crusted scabs around the wound in her dress and pulling painfully whenever she breathed. She looked down, and with the pressure she had applied most of the bleeding had stopped, but there was still a knife inside of her she had to remove, and once she did, she knew it would start all over again.

How much blood had she lost already? How much did she have left to lose before she lost too much?

Sai pulled up close to a tall building and parked haphazardly on the sidewalk before rushing out to open her door for her and carry her in his arms bridal style. She looped an arm around his neck and pulled herself close to his body, whimpering in pain as the knife was jostled. Sai whispered 'I'm sorry' into her ear and she pretended it made her feel better, because it kind of did.

"Take me to Nagato."

"You need stitches and for someone to take out that knife."

She fisted her hand into the fabric of his shirt, getting his attention. "Nagato," she repeated in as hard a tone she could manage with her throat as raw as it was.

Sai made a sound like he was upset, but moved into the building taking care to not be seen by any of the night staff. The minute a nurse looked away, Sai slipped by them like a ghost, his footsteps making no sound. Even with her in his arms he was a phantom in the halls. Sakura counted as Sai moved down the rows of doors till he stopped outside of one with the number 222 on its side. There was a clipboard hanging out of a plastic bin nailed to the door and Sakura saw the name  **Nagato** typed inside one of the boxes.

"He's here," she breathed into Sai's neck.

He swallowed before nudging the door open with the toe of his shoe. Inside were two twin beds, one of them empty, one of them occupied. There was a screen drawn, but Sakura saw the feet sticking out. Sai approached the bed but Sakura stopped him with a pat on the chest.

"Let me down," she whispered.

Her hand went to the wound in her stomach and held the knife steady as Sai set her down as softly as possible. She didn't allow herself to whimper. With one hand on her wound, she used the other to pull the curtain back.

Nagato was tall and large, larger than Pein with dark hair and pale skin. He was dressed all in white, making him seem paler than what he actually was. He was sick looking too. There were hallows in his cheeks and bags under his eyes. The memory of health still lingered around him, but had nearly vanished. Sakura had no doubt he would look sicker as the days came and went without treatment to whatever was making him sick, and there was something… Sakura could feel it humming inside of him.

She approached the bed and laid her hand over his chest and there was a shock as she saw inside his ailment. There were thorns all throughout his body, a green man, a spirit, grew then from his garden. There was a particular flower he boiled down into a toxin that festered in his blood, keeping him sedated until extracted, but there was something else. Lying, lingering, just underneath all of that there was the Obelisk. Tall, frightening, and menacing in pure black Onyx, it hid inside of Nagato.

"It was inside of you all along," Sakura breathed aloud, knowing what needed to be done.

She removed Orochimaru's hand from her pocket and laid it on Nagato's chest, for when he woke up. Next she gripped the hilt of the dagger still inside of her and pulled hard. It came with a sound like the tearing of bedsheets and waves of new pain. Sakura choked on the physical agony and staggered as fresh blood flowed. Sai was right behind her to catch her and hold her steady as she bit her free hand to keep from screaming. He was breathing soothing things into her ears and shushing her pains like a mother would with their child.

Nearly blind from pain, Sakura turned the knife over in her hand and made an incision along Nagato's forearm. The blood pooled there and she reached down to suck the toxins out. They came in thorns and brambles down her throat and through her teeth. Dirty, scratching, it chewed her up inside. Mouthful after mouthful she sucked at the wicked things in his blood until there was nothing left but the black tower in the not so distant distance.

"You did it," Sai breathed in honest excitement.

"About…time….too," Sakura breathed. She could barely keep her eyes open anymore. Too much of her blood was on the floor. Looking down she saw Nagato's eyes begin to flutter. "I need to….go."

Her hand was still on the cut on his arm, her forefinger in contact with his blood. She closed her eyes just as he opened his and let herself fall into the black stone. The darkness was cool, and finally, there was no more pain, only peace.

* * *

"What is the world but a boxing ring where fools and devils put up their fists?"

― Catherynne M. Valente, Deathless

* * *

######  _ And so ends the conquest of the Kingdom of Man. _

**END BOOK 1**

**OBELISK: KINGDOM OF MAN**

**.**

**Bonus**

* * *

Pein sat on the hood of his car with his hands folded between his knees, one heel placed above the grill and the other swinging free. It was late in the day, and the sun burned out the edges of the tree line as it thrust its last desperate beams towards the hill, where so much of his life had changed. Though staring straight at the sun, his eyes remained serene and unblinking as the light sank deeper and deeper beyond the crest of the earth.

"This is where you were?"

Pein didn't react right away, but blinked, looking back over his shoulder to see the boy he called brother saunter down to the ledge. Nagato's chucks were stiff with dried dirt, and his jacket hung loose around his shoulders in wrinkles. He had lost too much weight to look like he belonged in it.

"You know Konan was looking for you, right? She was even willing to make breakfast for dinner."

Pein blinked without speaking, but there was a flicker of a thought in his eyes as he remembered how Sakura liked breakfast for dinner as well. Itachi always thought it was annoying, but the pair of them wouldn't be denied when they wanted the same thing. Pein, their leader at the time, and Sakura, their most cherished member. Even Sasori pretended to like waffles for her.

"God, you look sicker than me," Nagato laughed, not feeling comfortable with the stale silence that ate up the space between them, "Your face will stay stuck that way if you never change it."

"What are you doing here?" Pein asked, looking back to the tree line.

"I was checking up on you. We were…worried."

Pein breathed out through his nostrils, almost smirking. "You were the one Orochimaru poisoned all the way into a hospital bed and you are worried about me? I'm perfectly healthy, I assure you."

Nagato didn't say anything, but he pulled himself up onto the hood of the car beside his foster brother. Together the pair sat for a while without speaking. Pein allowed it and Nagato fostered it. After a while, the soft light through the trees turned harsh and vivid with violent hues of red and orange. The greatest brilliance before death.

"Where did she go?" Pein asked after a time, not even realizing he had said anything until it was out of his mouth. He was just as surprised by the sound of his own voice as Nagato was. When he spoke again it was no less surprising to his ears. "Why didn't she say goodbye?"

"That might have something to do with the six inch long knife wound on her sternum. That, or maybe her present."

Orochimaru's severed hand was hardly considered a present, but the clout and pleasure it brought Nagato was not to be underestimated. Carrying it to a gang meeting and tossing it at rival greasers while bragging to them that their little flower of a girl greaser did that…it was priceless.

"Then why wasn't she in the hospital when we visited? Not even a record of it. Like this, I don't even know if she's alive or…" His voice took a turn and went hard in his throat, burning the lower lids of his eyes with anger. He didn't know and it drove him insane.

"I don't know. It didn't look like she was able to go very far, so all I can consider now was that she had help, but you said she didn't know anyone here, that she was visiting, and that she never asked for any of our boys to trail along with her. I'm sorry I don't make much sense. I wish I was more lucid when she was in my room. If she said something important…"

"Don't." Pein looked over at his brother and his dry eyes were hard as ice. Ice storms. "It doesn't matter."

It was a lie and they both knew it. Nothing mattered more, but Pein had lied to himself too long to ever be able to admit it out loud. Nothing mattered more to him in that moment than finding out what happened to their little greaser girl who rocked pin up curls and strappy high heels whenever she felt like it. There wasn't anything he wouldn't trade for information on her.

"Do we want to try looking at our positives?" Nagato asked, sounding hopeful. When Pein didn't reply Nagato nodded, "Like, how we have an indisputable stake on this town and as far as our cars can drive on a half tank, or how the Uchiha police family is being all friendly again."

"The Uchiha are horrible bodies of scum," Pein's lip curled over each sharp word.

Nagato sighed, letting his shoulders drop. "They're helping us out a lot now, and you know what the boys said about Orochimaru and their deal with him. Even when they were working for the Snake, they made him swear Sakura was not to be touched. Even before she took him down, it was over for him once she walked through that dance hall. They feel horrible."

Pein looked up sharply, his eyes harsh. "No," he snapped, "They don't deserve those words. They don't get to be the good guys in anyone's eyes for thinking about her. No, especially not for that. What the hell is the worth in something like that when they were there when she…?"

"De-clawed the bastard?"

"When she got stabbed," Pein snapped. He looked away and breathed deeply before turning back to face his brother. "No," he answered more calmly. "Those sinners will never wash their hands clean of her blood, or Sasori's. They might not have been very fond of him, but we were brothers. I don't care how much they cared for her. Everyone cared for Sakura."

"Yeah, funny thing about that…I heard the little blond boy was asking around for her. Even the attendant at the pump seemed interested in hearing news on her. Funny how someone can get into so many people's heads in so short a time."

Pein made a sound in the back of his throat that sounded like a scoff. "You would have been no different. Konan adored her."

"I heard."

The two sat in silence for a while as dusk settled in, growing darker and darker as more and more of the daylight eased into the great beyond. After a while Nagato reached over to punch Pein lightly in the shoulder. Without a word, typical to his personality, Nagato stood and left the way he came.

Half an hour later, Pein stood and doubled back around to ease into the soft leather of the driver's side seat cushion. Gripping the wheel in one hand he turned the engine on and put her in drive. Rather than ease out, his tires bit the dirt as he peeled out onto the road in a cloud of dust and debris.

He didn't look back. Even as he passed the overgrown Victorian style greenhouse where the young boy once caught her coming out of, he never looked back, and because he never looked back, he never saw the beauty leaning against the glass in chucks, torn jeans and leather.

A red halo lit up just beyond her face as she took a drag of her cigarette. Breathing out, she exhaled like a fiery serpent from lore, her eyes cold and hard.

"You didn't wave him down."

Sakura turned back to see Sai standing in the high grass. The dusk was enough to hide him well enough that no one would ever see him from the road. He blinked once. "You do know this might be your last chance to ever see them again like this."

" _ Like this _ ?" Sakura asked, sounding puzzled.

Said didn't elaborate. "Yes. Like  _ this _ ."

Sakura winced and tore her gaze away. "No, I don't want to try it. I don't know if I would have the courage to graduate on to the next gate if I saw them again. You said that these kingdoms start to fall apart if the dreamer spends too much time in them, right?"

"Yes, but that takes years…decades in your case. You could remain here forever if you tried."

Sakura breathed in the smoke that wouldn't give her cancer and exhaled it through her pressed lips. "No. That's not how we do things. The water that stays stagnant grows rank and sick. We as human beings can't fall into contentment if we ever want to improve and succeed."

"That sounded forced. Do you truly believe that?" Sai asked.

Sakura took the smoking stick from her lips and dropped it into the dirt to crush under her heel. She could still smell the smoke clinging to her from earlier. It reminded her of Sasori, who wore the leather before her. "Maybe I don't, but I  _ choose _ to believe it. Come on, Sai, it's time to move on. Next level."

Sai nodded and moved to stand opposite the door to the Marble Gardens. At the end of the green house was a second door with the hand sized Obelisk hovering over the entrance way. There were words written there too, but Sakura couldn't read them yet. Sai watched her as she approached the door and hesitated. It was dark, but there was still a little scattered light to see by. It was enough for Sai to catch the water trailing down her cheeks.

_ Tears _ , he thought right before she pulled back on the handle and never turned around.

Maybe she did care more than she said and more than she realized.

**Author's Note:**

> -Reposted from FF.net by the original author, do not remove or copy to external sites. (I'm serious. If I see this on Wattpad again there will be some choice words.)
> 
> Ta da! The first time I published this on ff.net it was 65K in one chapter and that's gonna get broken up here for ya'll to make it easier to read.


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